Ben Lee
The Rebirth of Venus
By Ian Gormely

Ben Lee is a hard guy to take; his in-your-face earnestness is truly off-putting. For instance, the Aussie singer-songwriter titled his new album The Rebirth of Venus because he's "trying to find a balance between my own masculine and feminine nature," going so far as to replace the Roman goddess inside the clamshell on the album's cover. But if you can get past Lee's more hokey qualities you'll discover he's actually a very talented songwriter. He scored himself a minor hit in North America a few years back with "Catch My Disease," and the songs on this record pick up where his last two albums left off, blending big campfire sing-along choruses with Lee's positivity laced lyrics. At times, like on "Boy with a Barbie" and "I Love Pop Music," the lyrics fall off the fence and into the realm of self-parody. But if you let down your cynical guard, other tracks like "What's So Bad (About Feeling Good)" will leave you wearing a sheepish grin for the rest of the day. (New West)
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Arietta - Migration
Au Revoir Simone - Still Night, Still Light
Bachelorette - My Electric Family
Bachelorette - My Electric Family
Bill Callahan - Sometimes I Wish We Were an Eagle
Black Moth Super Rainbow - Eating Us
Bricolage - Bricolage
Chester French - Love The Future
The Church - Untitled #23
City Center - City Center
Clues - Clues
Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band - Outer South
The Curious Mystery - Rotting Slowly
Deerhunter - Rainwater Cassette Exchange
Doll - Inside the Dollhouse
Eels - Hombre Lobo: 12 Songs of Desire
Ex Norwegian - Standby
Great Bloomers - Speak of Trouble
Great Northern - Remind Me Where The Light Is
Grizzly Bear - Veckatimest
Hanne Hukkelberg - Blood From a Stone
Heat From A DeadStar - Seven Rays Of The Sun
The High Strung - Ode to the Inverse of the Dude
Hopewell - Good Good Desperation
HotKid - Someday Somehow
The Hundreds and Thousands - The Hundreds and Thousands
Ida Maria - Fortress ’Round My Heart
The Intelligence - Fake Surfers
Jack-O & the Tennessee Tearjerkers - The Disco Outlaw
Jarvis Cocker - Further Complications
Jason Lytle - Yours Truly, The Commuter
Jeffrey Novak - After The Ball
Jets Overhead - No Nations
Kid Congo and the Pink Monkey Birds - Dracula Boots
Lee Harvey Osmond - A Quiet Evil
The Lovely Feathers - Fantasy of the Lot
The Lovely Feathers - Fantasy of the Lot
The Lovely Sparrows - Bury the Cynics
Magik Markers - Balf Quarry
Marilyn Manson - The High End of Low
Matt Krefting - I Couldn’t Love You More
Maximo Park - Quicken the Heart
Most Serene Republic - …And the Ever Expanding Universe
The Novaks - Things Fall Apart
The Paint Movement - Our Eurythmy
Papa Roach - Metamorphosis
Paul “Snoflake” Taylor - Share It!
Pick a Piper - Pick a Piper
Pilot Speed - Wooden Bones
Polly Scattergood - Polly Scattergood
Pony Up! - Stay Gold
Rubies - Explode From the Center
Screen Vinyl Image - Interceptors
The Skeletones Four - Aaaaahhh!!!
The Soundcarriers - Harmonium
Sports - The Band
Still Life Still - Pastel
Still Life Still - Pastel
Thee Oh Sees - Help
Think About Life - Family
Tragically Hip - We Are the Same
Various Artists - Songs for Eric
Various Artists - Not Given Lightly: A Tribute to the Giant Golden Book of New Zealand’s Alternative Music Scene
Walk Off The Earth - My Rock
Wand - Hard Knox
The Warlocks - The Mirror Explodes
White Rabbits - It’s Frightening
The Wooden Birds - Magnolia
Wooden Shjips - Dos
Years - Years
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