Brendan Benson is best known, I imagine, as the guy in The Raconteurs who is not Jack White. Which is a travesty, in my opinion, because Benson is an absolutely brilliant composer of perfect pop-rock songs, with three solo albums to his name. (One of those, “Lapalco,” is one of my favorite records of the past 10 years. More on that in the next few months!)
I was excited when I first heard years ago that Benson and White — both Michigan boys — were teaming up for a project called The Raconteurs. I’ve never been a big Jack White fan, but I figured Benson’s pop prowess plus White’s gift for grimy garage-rock could lead to very good things. But I was disappointed by the band’s debut album. It’s OK, but a little bland. The sum of the parts was greater than the whole. I never even heard the sophomore effort.
All along, I wished Benson would hurry up and put together another solo album. I spent too much energy telling people that Jack White was the second-best songwriter in The Raconteurs. I convinced myself that if Benson’s time in that band would eventually fund further solo recordings, that it would be worth the wait.
And now, four-and-a-half years after he released “The Alternative to Love,” the wait is over. Benson’s fourth solo album, “My Old, Familiar Friend” will enter the world on Aug. 18 on ATO Records, and after only a couple listens, I can tell you it sounds terrific. All the hallmarks of Benson’s songwriting are there: snappy guitars, lovelorn lyrics, melodies both buoyant and haunting. Only time will tell where “Friend” fits in the guy’s catalog. (Is it better than “Lapalco” The Mighty? Very few records are. But it might be better than “Alternative to Love,” which was a very solid album.)
I hope that by now I’ve convinced you that you need to hear Brendan Benson’s music if you (A) haven’t, and (B) like catchy guitar-rock. And thanks to NPR, you can hear “My Old, Familiar Friend” right now by clicking right here. And if you ever stop singing that “I fell in love with you and out of love with you and back in love with you all in the same day” refrain from the first track, you can pre-order the record by using one of the links here.
I was a tad concerned that “My Old, Familiar Friend” could be a bit of a let-down, given all that’s happened to the guy over the past few years. But it’s just the opposite. This record will be fighting for a spot high in my year-end favorites list. So kudos to Benson, and welcome back.
(Photo courtesy superflattened.)
Tags: Brendan Benson
The second Raconteurs album is awesome. What do you think of the debut album from We Were Promised Jetpacks?
I’ve always heard good things about the second Raconteurs, but just never was motivated to check it out. I guess I should remedy that.
As for We Were Promised Jetpacks, they’ve been on my list to check out for a while. Just went over to the MySpace … sounded decent, maybe a bit lacking in melody for me, but there’s some potential there. Hoping to catch them at Musicfest NW with Frightened Rabbit and The Twilight Sad!
Consolers of the Lonely is a big improvement over their debut. Good to hear Benson is finally releasing a new album, so much time had passed that I had stopped checking in to see if something new was coming.
Great advice – do this! RT @frequencyblog: You really should go stream the new Brendon Benson album right now http://bit.ly/4q1zNZ #music
Saw him for the time last night in SF.I was not disappointed.He put a good show and acted like a regular guy just having fun.
I saw Brendon last night at the Troubadour – WOW!! Hands down, amazing. When a band has one person chalker-block full of talent, that usually is enough. Pack each of Benson’s band members, total talents themselves, together with Brendon, and one finds a super group. What a great show, super new album and one very happy listener…