Hear Ben Folds Five’s New Song, “Do It Anyway”

Erika Brooks Adickman | May 7, 2012 12:31 pm

Last year, Ben Folds‘ three-disc compliation The Best Imitation Of Myself: A Retrospective — one of our 10 favorite albums of 2011, complete with the previously unreleased Ben Folds Five track “House” — was both a walk down memory lane and a tease of what could be if the threesome had stayed together.

So when news broke in January that Ben Folds, Darren Jesse and Robert Sledge would be reuniting for the first time in 13 years, our prayers had been answered. Now BFF has delivered “Do It Anyway,” the first offering from their yet-to-be-titled album due out in August. Jump below for a listen from the North Carolinian trio.

“If you’re paralyzed by a voice in your head, it’s the standing still that should be scaring you instead,” Ben sings as he tickles the ivories. The motivational lyrics remind us of Fiona Apple‘s musical pep talk “Extraordinary Machine”. Could it be the guys psyching themselves up to collaborate on an LP for the first time since 1999’s The Unauthorized Biography Of Reinhold Messner? Then again, the trio is known for their sense of humor in tracks such as “For Those Of Y’all That Wear Fanny Packs”, “Steven’s Last Night In Town”, Ben’s improvised Chatroulette songs of 2010, and “Levi Johnston’s Blues”. Could this all be a tongue-in-cheek nod to self-help books like Feel The Fear And Do It Anyway?

What do you think of the kicking new track? Tell us in the comments below, or on Twitter and Facebook.