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United States
Ben Folds Five
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About Ben Folds Five
The ironically monikered three-piece Ben Folds Five dispel any misgivings about a band's ability to rock without guitars. Mixing their hooky, energetic, piano-led sound with lyrics that fuse irreverence and vulnerability, the Chapel Hill natives are often grouped with the nerd rock movement of the mid-'90s, although their debt to jazz music -- not to mention Folds' acerbic spin on the classic pianist/songwriter tradition -- ensured the trio a legacy after their 1995 debut, Ben Folds Five. They subsequently split in 2000 following a pair of international-charting albums (1997's Whatever and Ever Amen and 1999's The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner) that helped launch Folds' solo career, which has included appearances on the pop and classical charts. The Five reunited for 2012's U.S. Top Ten-charting The Sound of the Life of the Mind. A 2026, 30th-anniversary reissue of their debut LP included an 11-song scrapped version of the album.
Influenced by Ben Folds FiveBen Folds Five has influenced the music of Sunbears!, Theo Salewicz, Nathan Stiteler and more.
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