Linda Perry hand-picked Ben Jelen's sophomore CD Ex-Sensitive to be the first 2007 release on her label, Custard. Jelen insists that it didn't quite happen that way. He says it took persistence to get Linda to consider producing Ex-Sensitive, especially after her skepticism with Jelen's first release Give It All Away (Maverick). But, Linda Perry followers know different: Ms. Perry only chooses artists with raw guttural talent and an artistic openness that allows her to work her magic. Note: James Blunt's "You’re Beautiful," Pink's "Get the Party Started," and Christina Aguilera's "Beautiful" are all Perry credits.
Linda saw that spark in Ben Jelen (pronounced "Yell-in") and thus was born Ex-Sensitive, a cohesive and organic (as Jelen calls it) collection of pure sound and purposeful lyrics.
The lead track, "Pulse," the mystical "Not My Plan," and the romantic "Wrekage" are testaments to Jelen's cry for the return of a Beattle-esque era when music became the railroad for political and social change. I had a feeling of familiarity during my first few listens of Ex-Sensitive. Nostalgia I admit at first seemed unoriginal; but as I built a relationship with Jelen's sound and lyrics, I soon realized that what I noticed wasn't a failed attempt at originality, but music that resonated with my own inner feelings about the state of our planet and its doom if we continue to be ex-sensitives.
The lead track, "Pulse," the mystical "Not My Plan," and the romantic "Wrekage" are testaments to Jelen's cry for the return of a Beattle-esque era when music became the railroad for political and social change. I had a feeling of familiarity during my first few listens of Ex-Sensitive. Nostalgia I admit at first seemed unoriginal; but as I built a relationship with Jelen's sound and lyrics, I soon realized that what I noticed wasn't a failed attempt at originality, but music that resonated with my own inner feelings about the state of our planet and its doom if we continue to be ex-sensitives.
Ex-Sensitive is an experimental love story; a hand to Earth to heart lyrical solution, not just a problem. Ex-Sensitive is a creatively diverse, yet focused collection of new music with roots from a time when music mattered and so did we.
Listen to Ex-Sensitive
You can hear a preview of Ex-Sensitive on BenJelen.com. Also check out Ben Jelen's MySpace page for concert updates.
