Capturing a moment in time with Ben; WHAT'S ON:ROCK.

Byline: Rock

EVERY band and solo artist in the business will tell you that they defy pigeon-holing, offer something genuinely unique - and most of them probably believe it.

But Ben Folds comes closer than most to fulfilling that extravagant claim - once you get past the "American singer/songwriter/pianist" tag and note that he no longer fronts the trio confusingly called Ben Folds Five, you're into largely unexplored territory.

Folds pops over for a brief UK tour next week, kicking off at Birmingham's NIA Academy on Monday, when he will no doubt showcase tracks from current album Songs for Silverman.

Having followed up his Rockin' the Suburbs debut with a sequence of internet- driven EPs, Folds originally completed the album as a one-man-band affair. But he then decided it needed an extra dimension and called in drummer Lindsay Jamieson and bass player Jared Reynolds to help him re-record the material during a hectic six-week session in the Nashville studios once used by the likes of Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley and Carl Perkins.

"I was tired of playing solo by myself," he explains; "I'd worn that out.

"Piano, bass and drums has always been most natural for me. I have tapes back to when I was 12 years old that are piano, bass and drums and I had two bands before Ben Folds Five that were piano, bass and drums. I felt the need to get away from that and do something different for a while, but piano, bass and drums is my home.

"When I started looking for a couple of guys to play a few gigs it didn't take me long to find the right people. Lindsay is a madman on drums and Jared plays bass with a lot of attitude, so they're perfect for my music - and they live down the street from me.

"We recorded the album really fast because I wasn't worried about making changes to the songs - I'd already done that the first time through. All we were concerned with was getting the right performance, doing a take, listening to the playback and getting chills when you know you've nailed the spirit of the song.

"Some records really capture a moment in time; this album is about being spiritually tight, not necessarily musically tight."

Sentimental Guy and Gracie, a song about Folds's daughter, survive from the original sessions on his new partners' advice. "They didn't want to change a note, so we left them alone," says Folds. "I really trust their opinions because they're not afraid to say 'you can do better'."

In contrast, Give Judy My Notice has gone through several redrafts since first appearing on the Speed Graphic EP, the final version featuring famed pedal-steel guitar player Bucky Baxter, who has also worked with REM and Bob Dylan.

"That song really shows how this album was recorded," says Folds. "Someone said 'hey, Bucky's in town, let's ask him to play on it', and the next thing I know he's in the studio.

"Instead of thinking 'this song needs to be this way' I just let them happen. The same thing happened with Time - Weird Al Yankovic was in town, so we had him come down and play on the chorus."

The hardest song to write, Folds confirms, was Late, a tribute to Elliot Smith who died in October 2003.

"I toured with Elliott and knew him a little bit," explains Folds, "and his music was absolutely inspiring to me in every way. When I wanted to quit music or quit anything, I found his music uplifting and reassuring.

"On top of that, he was a good guy, and trying to get that across in a song in a humble way, without clichAs, is a dodgy proposition.

"I wanted to write about the Elliott Smith that I saw on tour, who seemed shy and fragile one minute and was playing super-aggressive basketball the next, and whose music got me through some hard times.

"Poets are inspired because they look up at the same sky that Wordsworth used to look at. When I felt bad about playing some gross club with profanities scrawled all over the ceiling, I knew Elliott was out there somewhere making beautiful music in the same kind of stink.

"Hopefully people will hear the song and five more will go out and buy his records."

Tickets for the NIA Academy show are pounds 22.50 plus booking fees from www.necgroup.do.uk or the box office on 0870 909 4144.

SoundBites ROBBIE WILLIAMS releases new single Advertising Space - the elegy to Elvis Presley that he jokingly describes as his Candle in the Wind - on Monday. It's the second single lifted from Intensive Care which was the second-fastest selling album of the year (behind Coldplay's X&Y) and the fourth-fastest since records began: at one point it was selling nine copies a second in the UK.

DEPECHE MODE (right) release new single A Pain That I'm Used To on Monday. Written by Martin Gore and featured on their current album Playing the Angel, it features remixes by Goldfrapp and Stuart Price.

THE SUBWAYS close out their spectacularly successful year when they release new single No Goodbyes on Monday. It's one of the more melodic selections from their superb Young For Eternity album that has already produced hits with Rock & Roll Queen, Oh Yeah and With You.

The STROKES preview their third album First Impressions of Earth, due out on January 2 as the follow up to 2003's triple-platinum Room on Fire, with a single Juicebox this week.

CURRENTLY winding up their first UK tour, San Francisco's Every Move a Picture release the intriguingly-titled On the Edge of Something Beautiful (at 12am) as a single this week. Their debut album is set to follow early next year.

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SPIRITUAL... Singer/songwriter Ben Folds is performing at the NIA Academy in Birmingham on Monday.