Many out there will be familiar with Ben Thornewill through his long-running power-pop project, Jukebox The Ghost. A successful and loved endeavour, the band has toured the US far and wide and appeared on the likes of Conan and The Late Show with David Letterman. At its helm, Thornewill has consistently driven the band forward as its singer, pianist and main songwriter. You’ll forget our excitement then, when we were told that Ben is about to release a brand new solo album, ‘Old Friends’.
‘Like a Stone’ is the first single to be extracted from the record, a rather good omen of what we can expect from the full album. Packed with theatrical arrangements and whimsical vocals, the song feels like an emotional, playful roller-coaster, a piece that finds its deserving home in between chamber-pop elegance, orchestral accents and rhythmic dynamism. Thornewill’s lyrical delivery is absolutely showstopping, catching the listener’s attention from the first line.
Delving deeper into the meaningful ethos behind ‘Like a Stone’, we are told: “It turns on a stark image of powerlessness: a stone perched in someone else’s palm, tipped left and right, rolling wherever it’s pushed. The song’s central pun, sliding from ‘like a stone’ into ‘I get stoned,’ doubles the meaning: the numbness is more than emotional, it’s chemical, a way of coping with feeling perpetually acted upon rather than acting.”
Recommended! Discover ‘Like a Stone’ now: