Album Review: Ben Sollee "Half-Made Man"

Half-Made Man BEN SOLLEEConsidering the access to any kind of music these days, it’s still feasible that regional sounds can develop. Not that Ben Sollee is channeling fellow Louisville-native Jim James (of My Morning Jacket), but the influence is undeniable when the songs on Half-Made Man approach rock and reverb land. Yet Sollee – a classically trained cellist, multi-instrumentalist, and environmental activist – has already proved innovative and wise beyond his 20-something years with his debut, Learning to Bend [2008], followed by sophisticated arrangements on last year’s Inclusions. Half-Made Man was fan funded through a PledgeMusic campaign and self-produced by Sollee, acknowledging it in “DIY.” Other than the ordinary album art, Half-Made Man is perhaps his most well-rounded effort. It’s as if Sollee realized, like Dylan going electric, that a fuzzy guitar with sustain is pretty damn rad – and that cello, mandolin and fiddle still work within. The rock elements are kept spatially soulful, with a boosted electric bass that propels some killer grooves here, courtesy of STS9 bassist Alana Rocklin.By Aaron Davis (for JHWeekly.com)