OK Kid Recordings via AWAL RecordingsBen Rector, who scored a big hit a few years back with the song “Brand New,” has returned with some brand new songs.
Ben’s new album, Magic, is due June 22, and two tracks — “Old Friends” and “I Will Always Be Yours” — are available now.
The new album was partially inspired by the birth of Ben’s first child, Jane, last July. He says, “That was literal magic.” But the album is also nostalgic, with songs about childhood friends and old loves. Another nostalgic touch: “I Will Always Be Yours” features a guitar solo from Steve Stevens, who famously played with ’80s icon Billy Idol.
Speaking to Billboard about “Old Friends,” Ben says, “I wrote [it] after a conversation with my mom about keeping up with my best friend from high school. Towards the end of the call she said, ‘You know what they say: You can’t make old friends.’ I sat down to write and was immediately flooded with memories from growing up.”
He adds, “It struck me how powerful that feeling was, that I missed both the people I grew up with and the naivety of that time more than I realized. Magic has a thread of nostalgia, both lyrically and sonically, running through it, and this felt like a good introduction — and I hope it makes people want to call their old friends.”
Ben’s 2015 album Brand New was his sixth, but his first to hit the top 10. The song “Brand New” was a top five radio hit.
Here’s the track list:
1. “Extraordinary Magic”
2. “I Will Always Be Yours”
3. “Drive”
4. “Old Friends”
5. “Duo”
6. “Kids”
7. “Green”
8. “Sometimes”
9. “Wherever You Are”
10. “Over and Over”
11. “Boxes”
12. “Peace”
13. “Love Like This”
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