Brendan Benson Albums (4)
What The Critics Say
My Old, Familiar Friend is Brendan Benson's first album since becoming Jack White's lieutenant in the Raconteurs but the group's raucous classicist guitar rock isn't much heard on this, Benson's fourth collection of precisely practiced pop. If anything, the higher profile he's received as part of the Raconteurs has offered Benson the opportunity to ratchet up his perfectionism and indulge in a bit of retro fantasia, allowing him to pair the bright, neo-Motown of "Garbage Day" with "Gonowhere," a rather brilliant pastiche of prime Wings. All the extra time and budget on My Old, Familiar Friend do result in a record where it's easier to admire Benson's reach and skill, even if his power pop isn't quite as powerful, something that's evident when the music is at its liveliest, as on the opener "Eyes on the Horizon" or the cheerful, not entirely ironic breakup stomp "Don't Wanna Talk." Such is the trade-off of working on a grander scale: the ambitions are realized at the expense of energy. Fortunately for Benson, his taste and melodic skills are suited for this bigger scale, so My Old, Familiar Friend winds up as an effective showcase for his craftsmanship. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Each decade has a handful of power pop icons to call its own, each working from the template that the Beatles and the Who constructed in the '60s, adhering to that melodic, guitar-driven sound but subtly updating it to fit the musical and emotional aesthetic of the time. In the '90s, the tradition was kept alive by Teenage Fanclub and Matthew Sweet, who married Big Star and Badfinger to '80s college rock -- there was also Jellyfish, who acted as if the '80s never existed -- and in the 2000s, it's been the New Pornographers, an indie-centric act who fills the Fanclub's spot, and Detroit-based singer/songwriter Brendan Benson, who is this decade's Matthew Sweet. Not that the Sweet-Benson analogy is 100 percent accurate. For one thing, Benson doesn't favor the messy guitars and confessionals that marked Sweet's '90s masterworks Girlfriend, Altered Beast, and 100% Fun, preferring tightly constructed songs and precisely detailed arrangements that emphasize his sweet melodies. Also, where Sweet's music tied neatly into the zeitgeist of the Alternative Nation of the early '90s, Benson's music is deliberately classicist and proudly out of time, belonging neither to the sounds nor the fashion of the 2000s. That is, unless the defining characteristic of this decade truly is smart, sharp revivalism, from the Strokes through LCD Soundsystem, but even if that's the case, Benson is the heir to a tradition that has never had much commercial (or critical) potency since Badfinger and the Raspberries developed it in the early '70s -- too-shy, sensitive pop tunesmiths who are also skilled record-makers but whose sense of pop remains rooted in the golden era of the '60s, so it chiefly appeals to other pop geeks raised on similar sensibilities. Benson, like the New Pornographers and their leader, A.C. Newman, primarily plays to this small, insular cult that cherishes sugary melodies and knowing, referential productions above all else, but he, like the Pornographers, breaks out of this small world thanks to a combination of skill, fortunate timing, and good luck. As he was working on his third album, Alternative to Love, his friendship with White Stripes mastermind Jack White intensified, leading to a collaboration (unreleased as of this writing), which raised Benson's profile considerably around the time of the album's spring release in 2005. That increased profile meant that Alternative to Love received more attention than either his largely ignored 1996 debut, One Mississippi, or his 2002 cult classic Lapalco, suggesting that the album was a creative breakthrough when it really just delivered more of the same smart, hooky classicist pop that distinguished his first album. Not that this was something entirely unexpected -- power poppers pretty much remake the same album each time -- and somebody like Benson who prides himself as a craftsman keeps rewriting until he perfects his ideas, which is what he gets close to doing on Alternative to Love. While there is nothing unexpected here -- the closest it comes is with the modernist touches in the mixes by Tchad Blake, which are very much in the style of Jon Brion but not nearly as arty -- its very familiarity is its strength, both to those already enamored of Benson's music or to those guitar pop fans hearing him for the first time. The first listen of Alternative to Love is like experiencing an old favorite with fresh ears -- the feel is familiar, but the details are all new, from the hooks and harmonies to the subtle details in the production, like the theramin that flows throughout the opener, "Spit It Out." Alternative to Love isn't a bracing record, but rather a friendly, comfortable one, an album that's immediately likeable and gets better with each spin, as all great power pop albums do. And make no mistake, this is close to a great power pop record, due to Benson's strong writing and impeccable sense of craft, which are the primarily appeals for power pop fanatics in the first place. Perhaps it doesn't have the kinetic energy or sense of adventure that mark the genre's true classics from No Dice till Girlfriend, but Alternative to Love also exists in an era that's enamored with the past and doesn't take many risks, and on those terms, it's the perfect power pop album for its decade. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
'Lapalco'
Release Date 2/26/2002
Tracks 12
Label StarTime International
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
On Lapalco, Brendan Benson enlists help from like-minded popster Jason Falkner for a golden power pop record reminiscent of Matthew Sweet's best work on albums like Girlfriend. Five years in the making, Benson's sophomore effort was long-awaited by the devoted fans of his debut, One Mississippi, which Esquire writer Jeff Gordinier listed among "the greatest overlooked pop masterpieces of the decade." But it's on Lapalco that Benson really hones his jangly melodicism and crunchy bubblegum riffs, fusing influences like the Kinks, T. Rex, the Beatles, and Paul McCartney's solo work into something more meditative than his debut. The album begins with the electronic keyboard gurgle of "Tiny Spark," an instant single that sounds upon first listen like you've heard it a thousand times before. And that's not all Benson can do. "Metarie" is wistfully repetitive. "Life in the D" plays John Lennon's solo career through Big Star's Third/Sister Lovers, and you half expect Benson to break into, "I'm just sittin' here watching the wheels go round and round...." The album has its moments of cringing goofiness, too, like, "I've been a little bit down on my luck, I think you know where I'm coming from. I need a pickup and I don't mean truck, I think you know where to get some" ("You're Quiet"). But, it's forgivable, especially with the last three tracks, "Pleasure Seeker," "Just Like Me," and "Jet Lag," where Benson stakes claim on a sound all his own -- bittersweet, down-tempo, semi-acoustic, melancholy with a sense of humor and just a little bit psychedelic. ~ Charles Spano, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Brendan Benson probably knew his time in the majors was doomed even before 1996's One Mississippi came out: he had recorded a full version of this album with producer Jason Falkner that was rejected by Virgin in favor of this more straightforward effort. (Falkner's fingerprints are all over this album regardless; he co-wrote over half of the songs, which sound like a more rocking version of tracks from his own major-label bow, Author Unknown. Several of the Falkner-produced tracks were eventually released by Virgin on the vinyl-only promo Well Fed Boy.) Still, you have to give him credit for trying. An album whose catchiest tune's chorus involves a woman tied to a chair and which opens with a heartfelt song called "Tea" (about the hot beverage, not the outdated slang term for marijuana) is not a record that will set charts afire. That said, Benson's gifts as a tunesmith in the Todd Rundgren-meets-Alex Chilton mode are undeniable; the hooks are plentiful and catchy and his appealingly rough voice puts over the relentlessly smart-alecky lyrics well. There are a couple of duff tracks, but the power pop charms of a song like the snarling "Me Just Purely" mostly make up for occasional blunders like the underwritten "Bird's Eye View." ~ Stewart Mason, All Music Guide
