BEN VARIAN “Quiet Fill” (Plastic Response)




This is some real nice pop music. Back to roots pop music. Timeless. The instruments couple, part and coalesce in fabulous little (big!) melodies and Ben’s voice sounds so nice when he sings about the things he sings about. Singing about the little things. The special things. Oranges, money, coffee, moldy things, digital things, tattoos, sports, computers, chopping wood, the details of an American life. The production is wonderful. I’m gonna listen to this tape lots and lots and probs put some of these songs on mixtapes that I make for people who hate music to turn their minds around and show them that music can be fun and thoughtful and kind and not all about sadness and serious things. But this is serious music. Super serious. It’s too good not to take seriously. Groovin’ on a melody then the melody changes and suddenly you are transformed into another realm of musical possibilities and you stay there for a minute and then you go somewhere else, somewhere better, but you still miss where you just were, and then you go back for a second, but only a second, then you go somewhere else again and you are glad that you are in the new place and you want to stay in that new place and let yourself be overtaken and you become overtaken and it is a miracle. Ben is a miracle. A gift from the gods. This is good music, fine and happy but really it’s not all that happy, it just makes you happy to hear this kind of music and this kind of music is one of a kind. I bet Ben would make a good boyfriend.

https://plasticresponserecords.bandcamp.com/album/quiet-fill


-Ricky Lemonseed