Paul Bender

For fans of Bender’s work as the bassist in Hiatus Kaiyote, or his playful, hysterical rap project, or his production work for artists like Laneous, The Putbacks, and Jaala, his solo work will come as a bit of a surprise. But when you weigh these projects together, the variety, stunning unique clarity, and unending creativity, this evolution for Bender is the next logical step. His new solo album, How To Forget, is filled with richly realized meditations on love and love destroyed, on picking up pieces and wanting to leave the scraps on the floor for eternity. It shows a complexity to Bender he’s hid behind bombastic basslines and otherworldly one-liners in the past. How To Forget is Bender at his bravest and most vulnerable, but always willing to search for answers even as he works through his pain towards a hope of eventual catharsis. How To Forget is a meditation on relationships, yes, but it’s also about the self, a celebration of being halved and slowly finding a way to piece yourself together again. “The ability to make this album, and the fact that some ethereal window opened to shine through me at that time is a gift that isn't available to everyone with a broken heart,” Bender explains when reflecting on the wrenching process of making this album. “I’ll forever have a memento, a reminder of how deeply I loved.” And, hopefully, a map, a reminder that pain is fleeting and in its wake something as beautiful, true, and raw as How To Forget can emerge.