Ben's an indie singer-songwriter from West Chester, in the distant suburbs of Philadelphia, and while I just discovered him with Vol. 4, he's released consecutive holiday singles starting in 2011 with Vol. 1. That single features the tongue-in-cheek ballad "I Got a New Tattoo For Christmas" and the end of year lament "Same Old New Year." 2012's Vol. 2 goes uptempo with "Son, You Should Come Home For Christmas," a Ben Folds-styled lament in which the son is hoped to provide a distraction for a mom and dad bored with each other, and back downtempo for "Black Friday," a poke at the annual retail holiday that also addresses a troubled relationship. For 2013's Vol. 3, "Santa's All In" is a driving rocker in which Santa hits the casinos, and "Christmas Down the Shore" is a piano waltz about a holiday on the sand. Just out is 2014's Vol. 4, in which bad behavior leads to "Coal For Christmas," and "Feast of Steven" is almost a Band-like ode to what some folks call Boxing Day.
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