Benjamin Bear’s CD, Lungs, is an interesting mix of bohemian rock meets jazz with surprising folk-sounding vocals. He describes his music as part of the “stargazer” genre.

His lyrics are simplistic and clearly express his emotions. It seems to me that he writes most if not all of his material. A singer/songwriter combination can be a double-edged sword. Theoretically artists should be writing their own music because that is part of their creative process, but in Bear’s case the material produced sounds the same. Still, his songs display a particular amount of vulnerability which is nice to see in an artist.

His interesting sound as a vocalist can make him a very marketable artist. However, the musical arrangements in his songs need to be reconfigured. In track five, “Frictionless,” I was thrown off by the sudden shift in sound of the song. The song began with an electric keyboard which, in my opinion, was striving to sound like an organ. Before I knew it, the song had completely shifted into an intense drum sound without the organ. I thought the track had actually changed without my noticing.

This same shift in the tone of the song also occurs in track 10, “I Just Wish This Could All Be Different.” It sounded like two separate songs spliced together to make one. It was confusing and annoying.

On the other hand a few of his songs I really felt a connection to. I loved track six, “Napalm Runner.” The song had the traditional piano, drums, and even contained an innovative tambourine which added a sweet and soothing element. With a catchy chorus this track quickly became my favorite. Near the end Bear surprises the listener with a vocal belt that was very in tune with the piece and held true emotion.

In general most of his songs are composed using only a keyboard and drums. Some songs at times have a guitar too. The songs I tended to be fonder of were the ones that did not try so hard to be different and unique. I felt like with a few tracks he was really stretching to find a distinctive sound and it did not work.

Overall the CD was not bad but can be improved upon. If you are a fan of singers like Jason Mraz and John Mayer you might want to see if Bear would interest you. Bear is passionate about his music but keep in mind that he is a new artist who can grow and develop with time.

Cozette Roberts can be reached at [email protected].