Ben Folds Five: Philosophy [purchase]
Ben Folds Five? Wait... I thought this was supposed to be "Trios Week."
Don't worry, I'm not breaking the rules. Ben Folds five was a trio out of Chapel Hill, North Carolina led by the eponymous Ben Folds on piano. The band also featured Robert Sledge on bass and Darren Jessee on drums. Notice the absence of a lead guitar (or any guitar) in that line-up.
As for the name... they chose it simply because of its alliterative aspects and because "Ben Folds Five" sounded better than "Ben Folds Three." It was just another idiosyncrasy from this, often quirky, group that released three amazing piano pop records in the 1990's before disbanding at the end of the decade.
This song comes from their self-titled 1995 debut album and does a great job of showcasing the template of their sound. Ben is up front with vocals and piano. Robert's bass is fuzzed out in places and combines with Darren's drumming to provide the power of the track. Robert and Darren can also always be relied upon to provide ready harmonies to augment the sound.