Ben Kweller - Ben Kweller

I really don’t know where I should stand when it comes to Ben Kweller. When I hear his music, I get the impression that it’s exactly the sort of thing people with horrible taste would enjoy. The people who have no opinion of their own, listening only to what ‘classic hits’ radio and The O.C. tells them to. Does this mean I should I be steering well clear him? Are Ben Kweller’s fans really the mindless idiots I so despise or am I just being overly paranoid? Well whatever the case, Ben has won me over with his latest album and I’m prepared to support it, even it means joining an undesirable crowd. Despite being only 25, Ben Kweller has been playing music for more than 10 years. He led the band, Radish, at the age of just 15 and when that didn’t work out, he begun a solo career. He is obviously incredibly talented; one of those people born to create music. His sound has evolved quite a bit from his early Radish days, which resembled the ‘it band’ of the time, Nirvana. On this, his third solo album, Kweller’s music is highly polished, swoontastic (yes I made that up) pop. His voice is by far his greatest selling point, with it always coming off very smooth and casual. While he occasionally picks up the pace, the restrained instrumentation, consisting largely of acoustic guitar and piano, means his sound is always very intimate. This definitely isn’t a perfect album, but it’s got more than enough charm to make it worth a look

Sundress – Being the song that’s currently being played on the radio, this is the most likely song you’ve heard. It sums up his music very nicely, showcasing a variety of paces, sounds and styles in one neat package.

Nothing Happening – Unlike the song above, this song remains fairly soft and slow throughout. This means his vocals are put under the spotlight and it’s here that they strive.