it'll be harmonious when it's that euphonious
Novelist Hornby's lyrics, in their precision, empathy, and smart-assery, are very much in line with Folds's own, in an excellent set of piano-centric pop. The simmering "Levi Johnston's Blues" (built around quotes from the diary of Sarah Palin's would-be son-in-law) and rollicking "Your Dogs" combine as a superb, funny, and self-aware take on social class, Hornby's idealism warring with his very real middle-class prejudices (both of which I share). The sparse "Practical Amanda", gently rolling "Claire's Ninth", and swelling showstopper "Belinda" would make a lovely post-divorce apology to Folds's wife if he'd written them himself, and are fine stories regardless. The manic, synth-abusing "Saskia Hamilton" is pure fun. And the full set falls just short of the masterwork 'Rockin' the Suburbs" in my personal Ben Folds canon.
