Ben Lee Returns with Blatantly Honest Modern Love Song “Lovers” & Announces The Lovers Tour (Weirder Together)
Ben Lee (PHOTOGRAPHER: unknown / SOURCE: Ben Lee)
Eccentric Australian Indie Pop artist Ben Lee has shared his new and latest single, “Lovers,” a modern, mature love song that explores past and present relationships. The new single is out now via Lee’s own company Weirder Together, a collaboration with his wife, actress Ione Skye—a platform that supports other artists creating bizarre and beautiful content, spanning podcasts, film projects, music, and fanzines. The new release follows Lee’s 20th album, I’M FUN, which featured 2021’s anthem, “Born for This Bullsht” featuring Sad13 AKA Sadie Dupuis of Speedy Ortiz fame, followed by subsequent singles including the nonduality of “Like This or Like That,” the time-warping “Parents Get High” featuring Washington, and the reflective “Arseh*le” featuring Georgia Maq. Last week, Ben Lee & Ione Skye hosted one of their iconic Weirder Together Variety Shows at The Great Club in Marrickville, Sydney, Australia with guest appearances from Montaigne and Byron Spencer, amongst others. The pair will be bringing the night to Melbourne on Thursday, May 23, 2024 at Brunswick Ballroom with guests Gab Strum, Kirsty Webek, and Vigilantonie, plus, a couple other surprises. Tickets for those particular shows are available right here.
Best known for his instantly recognizable hits “Catch My Disease,” “We’re All In This Together,” “Gamble Everything for Love,” “Cigarettes Will Kill You,” and his eclectic cover of Modest Mouse’s “Float On,” Ben Lee has been making, recording, and releasing music for at least the last 32 years. Lee has notably collaborated with Shamir, Zooey Deschanel, Neil Finn (Crowded House, Fleetwood Mac,) Luke Steele (Empire of The Sun, DREAMS) Nina Person (The Cardigans,) Ben Folds & Ben Kweller collectively as The Bens, Sean Ono Lennon, Mandy Moore, and Good Charlotte’s Benji Madden. Lee’s former band, Noise Addict, was once signed to the Beastie Boys’ now-defunct Grand Royal Records and his 1995 solo debut, Grandpaw Would, was released by the imprint, as well. Lee dropped an album into 2007 titled Ben Lee Sings Against Me! New Wave covering the popular Against Me! album in full, unleashed a separate album full of covers in 2019 entitled Quarter Century Classix, somewhat recently started an Indie Folk/Pop musical duo with former How I Met Your Mother star Josh Radnor as Radnor & Lee. Lee recently appeared performing as The Professor on Season 3 of The Masked Singer: Australia.
To coincide with the release of “Lovers,” Ben has announced a run of Aussie shows, across VIC, NSW, QLD, and ACT, fittingly dubbed The Lovers Tour; see below for additional details. Speaking on the creation and meaning behind the song, Ben shares: “the past few years have been a time of immense reflection in our household. While I have been making an album about getting older and coming to an understanding of my past, my wife, Ione Skye, has been working on her memoir, Say Everything, due out via Gallery Publishing in 2025. Naturally, THE PAST has been a big subject in our lives, marriage, and minds. Sometimes, especially, when you are younger, the past can feel threatening. The experiences of your partner can be intimidating, the worry that their past may still be lingering over their lives in some way, casting a shadow, ready to overwhelm and consume you without warning. I’ve found that changes as you get older. It's been interesting witnessing my wife write a book that talks about her past loves; her big dangerous sexy relationships, the ways they burned and consumed her. I’ve gotten to pay close attention to her process of... processing. And I’ve developed an appreciation for the ways that these relationships made her who she is today; the person that I love.”
“When I sat down to write this song, “Lovers,” I wanted to write a modern, mature, romantic song. One that didn’t deny the past. If anything, it celebrated it. It felt healing and healthy for me to thank my past loves and lovers, and hers.” Ben adds, “when it came to creating the artwork for the single, I knew I wanted a vintage photo of a young couple in love. I’ve been really inspired by the creative and romantic union between Sam [Netterfield] & Tim [Nelson] from Cub Sport, so I texted Tim and asked if he might be open to sending me some old photos of them to choose from. The picture Tim sent was perfect and is the one you now see as the single cover. I’m very grateful for their openness to letting me use their image to illustrate my message. Actually, to me, it feels like the entire pay off of getting older is about getting more grateful. So, on that note, thank you for listening. Enjoy “Lovers.’” Stay tuned to both this space and Ben’s social media pages for additional updates and details in the coming months.
Ben Lee’s The Lovers Tour flyer (SOURCE: Ben Lee - Australian Musician/National Treasure Facebook)
