Ben Lubeck

Upon releasing his first solo album, Rented Rooms, singer-songwriter Ben Lubeck received praise for the quiet power, emotion and substance behind the 2016 release. Written as an act of reconciliation towards his father while contemplating his own newfound status as a dad, the album “carried years of heartache in the notes...with primal howls and words that cut deep (City Pages).”

Now a father of two, Lubeck’s life has shifted focus, but the introspective messages in his music are as strong as ever. On his sophomore release, For You Again, out September 13, Lubeck’s desire to overcome the fears that prevent him from being fully present comes across in every melancholy whisper and every heart wrenching cry. In For You Again, Lubeck has come full circle from his debut album as he now writes from the lens of a father, resulting in an honest, raw, and beautiful collection of songs.

Lubeck is a founding member of the Minneapolis band Farewell Milwaukee who have received national acclaim, song placement on major network television, supported bands such as the Lumineers, and had their songs featured on compilations alongside Mumford & Sons, Adele and Amos Lee. Lubeck has released four albums with the band over the last decade, frequently working with longtime producer and collaborator Brad Bivens. For this album, it was a natural fit to re-enlist the help of Bivens. For You Again was recorded at his home studio in south Minneapolis in just a few short days as Bivens anticipated the birth of his first child and Lubeck the birth of his second. The imminent life change that shaped this recording process brings a sense of authenticity to the album; the listener feels the emotions - the urgency, the passion.

Much like Rented Rooms, the album features contributions from Twin Cities artists including: Jake Hanson (Mason Jennings, The Cactus Blossoms), Andy Dee, Jacob Pavek, Kara Laudon, Hilary James, and Rachael Kilgour. Each song was recorded live to tape in a small living room, with the squeaks of wooden floors, the sliding of chairs, and the faint rumble of planes in the distance if you listen close enough. Everything captured on tape was in the moment and meant to be as raw as the songs themselves - stripped away of studio gimmickry and sleight of hand. For You Again is without a doubt Lubeck’s most vulnerable, personal recording.

Recently I read the phrase that “Love is not yet perfect in one that is afraid.” It stopped me cold, as I began to wonder if my greatest fears: the deep deceptive ones that nearly paralyze the body, and immobilize the mind, could be the very things that are preventing me from full engagement. Fully engaging and appreciating the people that not only love me the most but are the well in which I draw daily inspiration and hope. The ones I take for granted while in the pocket of my fear and darkness, are the ones that need me the most and are also the ones I need to be in tune with to feel at peace.

As I grow as a person, and hopefully as a songwriter, I'm starting to realize that as hard as I try to impact the world with my songs, it's my beautiful world around me, a world made up with two beautiful daughters and a wife that supports my every move, that deeply impacts me and my songs and it's with all my heart, that I hope to return the favor.

-For You Again,

Ben Lubeck