Hey friends! To complement the launch of WanderLove (yay!) I thought I'd debut the first of several ongoing features you'll see here. As you may know, today is Monday. Also, I love music. Hence: music mondays! Every Monday I'll be featuring something music related, including music I'm loving, tips for new/indie musicians on getting started, tools we use to run our music business, and more. If you've got specific questions or post ideas for music monday I'd love to hear them in the comments section! Now, on to today's post, featuring an artist I have been listening to non-stop for 9+ months...
If you haven't listened to Ben Rector's "Into the Morning", you are seriously missing out. It's a full-length album full of perfectly crafted pop songs that are catchy and enjoyable, with layers of musical creativity. It's what I consider "intelligent pop", which is basically songs with more than 10 words on repeat and/or songs that have meaning. Don't get me wrong, I can get into the most manufactured of pop music when I'm in the mood, but for everyday listening I tend to gravitate toward something with more substance that's still fun. I truly love about 85% of the album, and I really like the remaining 15%. My absolute favorite tracks are "When a Heart Breaks", "White Dress" and "Autumn". Also, the album cover is pretty:
 |
| photo from benrectormusic.com |
I'll admit I haven't yet purchased his most recent release (September 2011) because I really just want to continue listening to "Into the Morning". For a musician, I don't purchase new music as frequently as I'd like to, but Rector's latest, "Something Like This", is next on the list. I have a feeling as soon as I do, it will be the subject of another music monday post. :) Visit benrectormusic.com to support Ben's music and find out more. I am still a smidge heartbroken that I missed the recent Ben Rector + NEEDTOBREATHE Spring tour when they were in Nashville. I might have died from enjoyment had I been able to fit it in our schedule. I know plenty of you have caught the tour in various cities (thanks for the updates, Facebook!). Maybe I can live it vicariously through your stories.
Are you guys Ben Rector fans? Have any of you already purchased "Something Like This"? Care to tell me how much musical goodness I'm missing out on by sticking with my tried and true "Into the Morning"? Have at it in the comments!
P.S. Check back this afternoon for a special "launch day" giveaway post! I'll be giving away a few of my favorite things to celebrate the grand opening :)
This was an awesome post and much to my delight seeing Ben as the Music Monday pick of the week! His new album is my latest love and so I must encourage you to purchase quickly!
ReplyDeleteI'll have to check it out soon, glad to hear from someone who loves it :)
DeleteI've always been a big fan of needtobreathe and ben rector, almost as much as I am a fan of Jessa Anderson! I didn't realize they were touring together so thanks for that tidbit. Also I just heard forver like that and has some definite wedding potential! Love the blog, hope you three are doing well. Hope to catch you on the tour soon.
ReplyDeleteWhite Dress was used as a song for my sister-in-law's wedding video and it was so amazing! Hopefully we'll cross paths with you soon, have fun planning the wedding!
DeleteLove Ben Rector! I had the pleasure of hearing him in Vancouver when he was here with Needtobreathe. I hadn't heard him before (other than a bit of online snippets prior to the concert), but promptly went out to the lobby and bought both CDs at the intermission. I really like his new album - I've definitely listened to it more than "Into the Morning." Your post makes me want to go back to that one though so I can hear what I'm missing!
ReplyDeleteI too heard "Forever Like That" when he sang it at the concert - can't wait for that song to be released at some point!
Hi Jessa,
ReplyDeleteGreat recommendation! I saw Ben Rector open for NEEDTOBREATHE in Philly a couple of weeks ago, and I was really impressed. His song "When A Heart Breaks" from "Into The Morning" is one of my current favorite songs right now, and I loved every song he performed that night although I wasn't familiar with him before. Yes, based on his performance, I recommend "Something Like This," especially the song "Way I Am" which has a Coldplay-like guitar part (like your great song "I Won't Break") which rocked my world in concert. Thanks for your great music and I look forward to reading your blog.
Take care,
Kevin
I'm so envious of all of you who've seen him live! I'll have to keep my eye out for the next time he's in town (or maybe we'll catch him on the road!).
ReplyDelete@Kevin, if you recommend it I suppose I have to check it out, since you obviously have great taste in music ;)