Ben Lee Returns with New Album ‘This One’s for the Old Headz’
Along with revealing the title and release date of his new long player, Ben Lee has dropped the record’s first single, ‘Heavy Metal’.
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Musician turned podcaster Ben Lee has a new album on the way. The singer-songwriter behind classic Aussie tunes ‘Cigarettes Will Kill You’ and ‘Catch My Disease’ revealed his new record This One’s for the Old Headz is arriving this September 20 via Weirder Together, the label he founded with his wife Ione Skye.
Recorded in just three days, the album was produced by Justin Stanley and features Lee alongside The Mountain Goats bassist Jason Narducy and drummer Jon Wurster.
In a press release about This One’s for the Old Headz, Lee said the album is “a throwback to classic power-pop albums by artists like Teenage Fanclub, The Replacements, Big Star and The Lemonheads.” Lee wants to appeal to both his old fans and new listeners, so expect blistering guitars and Lee’s witty lyrics to feature strongly.
To coincide with the announcement, Lee dropped the album’s first single, ‘Heavy Metal’. The song is accompanied by a music video directed by Nash Edgerton that recreates scenes from the epic 1988 American heavy metal doco, The Decline of Western Civilisation Part II: The Metal Years.
“When I was 10 years old, I was obsessed with the Mötley Crüe home video Uncensored, and particularly a scene where Vince Neil rode down Sunset Boulevard in a jacuzzi built into the back of a limo with two hot girls,” Lee said of the new single.
“It was a seminal moment for me, that imprinted deeply on my nascent ideas about success, sexuality and the music industry – as an impossibly iconic symbol of hedonism and rock’n’roll debauchery. In some ways, I’ve been chasing that moment my whole life – whatever that means.”
This One’s for the Old Headz comes two years after Lee’s last album, 2022s I’m Fun. Despite none of the singles from the album making a dent on the charts, I’m Fun was Lee’s highest charting record since 2009s The Rebirth of Venus.
The past few years have also seen Lee delve into the world of podcasting, co-hosting Weirder Together with his wife. The two discuss their lives as married artists and share hilarious, sad and poignant stories about their shared adventures.
This One’s for the Old Headz is set for release on Friday, September 20. You can listen to ‘Heavy Metal’ above or stream the tune here.
