Ex-Sensitive

Ex-Sensitive, the new album from singer-songwriter Ben Jelen, is all about love. But listeners familiar with Jelen's debut LP (Give It All Away)--a lush and romantic tribute to a girl named Isabel-- may be surprised to learn that the object of Jelen?s affection in Ex-Sensitive isn't a girl at all. It's the Planet Earth and everyone on it.

Like most great love stories, Jelen's work on the album began with (meta)physical attraction--in this case a fascination with the physics of sound and its roots in good old-fashioned nature. Unraveling this mystery gradually laid waste to just about everything he thought he knew about himself and his music.

Jelen's drive to re-discover himself took him to India, the UK, and even the American South, where he holed up in the isolated home of Widespread Panic?s Dave Schools. He pulled his disappearing act--after months of touring--in hopes of catching up with all the changes in his life since his first album release. Months later, Jelen emerged with 30 songs that explored a central theme: the state of the world is in flux and every choice we make as individuals matters.