Ben Lee

Australian pop-rocker Ben Lee began attracting attention as a young teenager fronting the since-dissolved buzz band Noise Addict. The former boy wonder now finds himself a year away from 30, but Ripe suffers from a case of arrested development, epitomized by golly-gee odes to sex like "Birds and Bees," an unbearably saccharine duet with Mandy Moore that allegedly draws inspiration from Grease.

Other songs offer ruminations on the same theme, from the come-hither "Blush" to the jaded "Sex Without Love." Lee keeps good company, aided by singers Rachael Yamagata and Sara Watkins (Nickel Creek)—as well as, less effectively, Good Charlotte's guitar-wielding Benji Madden on an '80s rock cameo.

"Blush" finds a full-blooded sound that indicates Lee drew some inspiration from less ballyhooed guests like Benmont Trench (of Tom Petty's Heartbreakers). Patient and confident, it provides a welcome contrast to overcooked orchestral duds like "Numb." But Lee's thin vocals tend to get lost whenever too much is going on behind him, and he doesn't have the panache to pull off his own lyrics when he sings "My love will make you blush."

Alternating between good-natured and cloying, Ripe reliably offers an abundance of garden-variety pop hooks. If enthusiasm or earnestness translated to innovation or even enjoyment, the album would warrant widespread attention. Instead, Ripe will be of interest primarily to Lee devotees.

—Adam McKibbin
09.21.07

Ben Lee settled into a bit of a groove on his 2005 album, Awake Is the New Sleep -- or, rather, he matured, mellowing into a tuneful, tongue-in-cheek singer/songwriter, an Evan Dando who was warm, fuzzy, friendly, and lacking a considerable history of substance abuse. Of course, our Ben has never been dangerous -- he's always been a precocious kid, and if his mild impishness has faded over the years, along with his onetime fondness for clattering punk, his boyish sense of humor still remains on Ripe, his 2007 follow-up to Awake. Sometimes that humor is a bit too much -- despite its naggingly catchy hook, "What Would Jay-Z Do?" feels like a joke passed along in a high-school library -- but even if he occasionally overplays his hand, it sure is hard to dislike Lee. This is a guy who laments "Sex Without Love" (to a pounding new wave disco beat, no less!), sings about "American Television" without a trace of condescension, and updates the lilting '50s doo wop beat on "Birds and Bees," a charming duet with Mandy Moore. Lee has a warm cheerfulness that's thoroughly ingratiating, and he has the tunes to match. While none of these songs stands up and calls attention to itself -- neither does Lee, for that matter -- the songs are solidly constructed, are charming upon the first listen, and grow stronger on repeated plays, which are earned through the album's hazy, sweet nature. Truth be told, Ripe isn't all that different than Awake Is the New Sleep, but it's no worse: it's equally entertaining and endearing, a modest pleasure that's a pleasure all the same. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide