Ben l’Oncle Soul supposedly derived his name from the very same guy shilling Uncle Ben’s Rice – that easy-to-cook parboiled rice brand. That “lite” connotation might be the best way to describe his eponymous album that this song comes from. A mix of French and English songs that pay tribute to classic retro soul grooves, Ben l’Oncle Soul is easy on the ears, but nowhere near the emotional heavy-hitting punch of, say, Corinne Bailey Rae or John Legend. It’s reliably a quick and solid fix. Which is fine, because there are days when you can’t handle Corinne’s sorrow-tinged crooning or when John’s tracks are too much of an emotional investment at 10:00 a.m. (Can you tell my emotional education has been well informed, musically at least, by those two?) “I Don’t Wanna Waste” is light and carefree, punctuated by a catchy jazz piano lead. This is chill-out lazy Sunday morning music at its best.
