Brendan Benson - 'My Old, Familiar Friend' >>> (Echo)
Chances are that the first time you heard of Brendan Benson was when he shacked up with Mr. Jack White in the White Stripes’ man’s extra marital side project The Raconteurs, a band that united White’s desire for guitar histrionics to the peerless pop sensibility of the little known Benson. It was a marriage made in heaven, giving White the opportunity to spread his wings beyond the confines of his garage rock cage whilst Benson, having already produced two near perfect power pop records (and a third valiant attempt to recreate the formula), finally managed to get his songs heard by a wider audience.
Just as Future Of The Left continue to preach to a converted few whilst delivering the most exciting punk rock this side of Nirvana, so Benson has consistently produced the finest indie-pop for a small but devoted following. Both artists are head and shoulders above their contemporaries, drawing gushing plaudits from critics and faithful fans alike, yet neither has managed to trouble the mainstream, remaining stubbornly niche despite themselves.
Maybe all that’s about to change for our Brendan on this, his fourth solo album. It’s been four years since the rather polished ‘The Alternative To Love’ (an album that only disappointed in the fact that it could never live up to its predecessor ‘Lapalco’ ) and in the meantime Benson has indulged his rock-god fantasies with the aforementioned Raconteurs, honing his song writing craft and stepping out of his comfort zone to take on the mighty Jack White in a game of “who’s the better front man?”. The busman’s holiday appears to have done the trick though, and ‘My Old Familiar Friend’ pours out of the stereo like…well…an old familiar friend. Gone are the slightly forced attempts at the “perfect song” from his third release replaced by the fuzzy warmth and timeless brilliance that permeated his first two minor masterpieces. That’s the beauty of Benson, at his best he manages to immerse himself with the classic song writing of the greats (ELO, The Cars, Todd Rundgren, even (whisper it) Sir Paul ‘thumbs aloft’ McCartney), delivering pop nuggets that contain a nagging sense of déjà vu whilst also busting out a multitude of surprises at every turn.
Kicking off with the straight up rocker ‘A Whole Lot Better’, ‘My Old Familiar Friend’ is a relentless master class in pop song writing that doesn’t let up until the closing swirl of final track ‘Borrow’ (by which time you‘ll be re-hitting ‘Play‘ to start the entire trip again). The newly acquired fame induced paranoia of second track ‘Eyes On The Horizon’, the soulful sweep of ‘Garbage Day’ and the darkly threatening ‘Feel Like Taking You Home’ (the gathering pace towards the song’s finale marks this as Benson’s ‘Gimme Shelter’) all stand out but this isn’t merely about individual tracks. As with all Brendan’s work this album is a journey through relationships and the frailty of the human condition and here it’s clearer than ever that Benson’s old familiar friend is the bitterness of heartbreak and rejection. Whether the object of his affection is trying to “show me up so everyone can see” (‘You Make A Fool Out Of Me’), or “proving to be a hard habit to break” (‘Don’t Wanna Talk’) few songwriters can match Benson’s ability to create startlingly upbeat tunes from the painful mire of imperfect love.
‘Lapalco’ still retains its crown as Benson’s majestic peak but with ‘My Old, Familiar Friend’ his status as merely “the other one” in the Raconteurs could soon be a thing of the past. It’s a bold, engaging, dream of a record that is destined to become a lifelong companion for anyone who has ever searched for the answers to love in a dusty pile of old 7-inches.
Key Tracks: 'Eyes On The Horizon’, ‘Garbage Day’, ‘Feel Like Taking You Home’, ‘Don’t Wanna Talk’
Rating: 8/10
Steve Wheeler
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Further Listening:
Brendan Benson: 'Lapalco' >>>
Brendan Benson: ‘The Alternative To Love’ >>>
Paul McCartney & Wings: ‘Band On The Run’ >>>
Electric Light Orchestra: ‘All Over The World: The Best Of ELO’ >>>
