Ben Lee

Ben Lee was the 16-year-old frontman of Australian teen indie-pop sensations Noise Addict when he released his full-length solo debut, Grandpaw Would, in 1995. A strum-heavy lo-fi gem, Grandpaw prompted comparisons to Loudon Wainwright III, though Lee's goofy sense of humor and eye for detail also mirrors Jonathan Richman's. Produced by Brad Wood and featuring a guest turn from Liz Phair, the roughly hewn Grandpaw was winsome and charming (especially the Pixies' ode "Away With the Pixies"), impossible to dislike, and almost equally impossible to re-create, as the followup, Something to Remember Me By, would make clear.

Also produced by Wood, Something flirted vaguely with country ("New Song"), but was otherwise Grandpaw redux, packed with the sort of moony and clever love songs that had become Lee's stock-in-trade. While Lee's past efforts felt as if they could have been cobbled together in his bedroom, Breathing Tornados takes the opposite tack. Leaning heavily on loops, samples, and drum machines, Lee, who seems to be channeling Beck, comes dangerously close to losing the air of easy intimacy that is his greatest strength. Still, "Cigarettes Will Kill You," the opening track and the closest Lee has ever come to an actual hit single, is a keeper.

Hey You Yes You continued in the same vein, with acclaimed producer Dan the Automator fleshing out Lee's mature, brightly melodic tunes with fuzzed-out trip-hoppy ambience. (ALLISON STEWART)

From 2004's The New Rolling Stone Album Guide