Ben Kweller’s self-titled disc is his third recorded album following a self-recorded debut and EP release. Kweller really knows that adult contemporary pop-rock / folk genre that has yet to find a label that sounds even remotely appealing, and follows in the footsteps of his namesakes and one-time collaborators Ben Folds and Ben Lee (who formed the temporary “Bens” band for a tour and EP). The disc is fully written by Kweller, who also covers 100% of the vocals and instruments, an impressive feat for any artist, but that doesn’t prove to be enough to lift the disc from its surface level shallowness.
The disc kicks off with “Run,” “Nothing Happening,” “Sundress,” and “Gotta Move,” a series of upbeat, guitar tracks that would be a pleasure to drive too. While “Run” may be one of the highlights of the disc, and a track full of radio potential, something feels mildly disingenuous to have a 24 year old wax poetic on his days long gone of being 15. While age is no indicator of talent, and Kweller proves he has plenty of the latter, an album of longing love songs and tracks about memories of times long gone feels off center.
Nonetheless, the disc continues with the slightly slower “Thirteen,” and picks back up with “Penny on the Train Track” and a few other guitar soft-rock tracks that sound like they were made to be summer hits on the adult contemporary radio station. Before slowing down with “Red Eye” and “Until I Die,” Kweller leaves us with the rockiest of his tracks, “This Is War,” a song of even more relationship woes.
Kweller has a somewhat unique voice that is pleasing to the ear, and his musical composition is even more radio-friendly, but the lack of any true depth on the tracks, both lyrically and musically, hold the disc back. Nonetheless, it proves Kweller is someone to keep an eye out for as both he and his music continue to mature. |