Ben Folds Five

It’s been a long time since Ben Folds Five released its final album, 1999’s underappreciatedThe Unauthorized Biography Of Reinhold Messner, and while Folds has continued making wistful piano pop on his own, he’s never quite returned to the creative and popular highs of his former band. All those highs are collected on the 2011 compilation The Best Imitation Of Myself: A Retrospective, an album of greatest hits, near misses, rarities, and three new songs recorded by Ben Folds Five. The band has recorded even more new material since reuniting, and a new album—as well as an extensive American tour—is expected later this summer.

Updated 06/28/2012