Ben Harper and Relentless7 – White Lies for Dark Times
Michelle Hart

It is said that a tiger can’t change its stripes. While Ben Harper may have employed a different backing band, White Lies for Dark Times sounds exactly like the old Ben Harper. In the span of fifteen years and eight albums, no sign of growth from Harper is evident. Throughout his entire career, Harper has weaved a remarkable tapestry of different music styles including rock, blues, funk, soul, and reggae. More often than not, however, his career reads more like a music appreciation class than a solid and coherent evolution. In attempting to be unpredictable, Harper’s music remains as predictable as ever; he continues to experiment with different genres for each song, crafting music that highlights his Rastafarian-meets-Thom-Yorke-meets gospel vocals over the actual music.
Harper’s newest lineup came about from a long-time friendship between him and guitarist Jason Mozersky from the band Wan Santo Condo, who only produced one album before breaking up. Mozersky and Harper remained friends ever since, and, while Harper was in the studio recording Both Sides of the Gun in 2005, he recruited Mozersky to lay down some guitar tracks. Naturally, this chemistry led to jam sessions, which led to recording sessions, which ultimately led to White Lies for Dark Times four years later.
While his band—Mozersky, drummer Jordan Richardson and bassist Jesse Ingalls—are irrefutably talented, the problem with Relentless7 (why are they called Relentless7 when there are only four members?) is that Harper’s vocals don’t mix well with the garden-variety rock on this or any other of his albums for that matter. To be sure, though, Harper thrives in a live setting. Surely he must be doing something right when he’s playing live, for he plays every single summer festival, every single year. For some reason or another, the same passion he utilizes for his live shows does not translate onto his albums. This problem becomes increasingly clearer with each subsequent album, as more focus is put on rocking. Quite frankly, Harper’s vocals are too soulful to be complimented with raucous rock music.
Indeed, the best cuts of the album are either blues jams or ballads. For instance, the funky blues of “Lay There and Hate Me” and the mournful “Up to You Now” are both passionate and affecting. Similarly, the best song on the album, the acoustic, boot-stomping “Fly One Time” provides Harper’s unique and dramatic voice with the perfect background to shine. Harper is at his best when he is mellow.
Still, this is no different from the rest of Harper’s discography. The best songs on all his previous albums were the slow jams like “Burn One Down” from Fight for Your Mind and “Diamond’s on the Inside” from the album of the same name. What at one time felt so original and unique feels incredibly formulaic and tired. In the aforementioned “Fly One Time”, Harper sings, “I’m caught in between what I can’t leave behind, and what I may never find.” Yeah, that sounds about right. C+