Word: kweller
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Which leads to the defining question about Ben Kweller. What has he got that all the other guitar-toting guys don't? Most obviously, Kweller has a tale of woe. In 1996, when he was just 15, his garage band, Radish, was signed by Nirvana guru Danny Goldberg to a major-label deal and was subsequently profiled at Proustian length in the New Yorker. The album that came out of the experience, Restraining Bolt, wasn't bad, but Kweller could not have marshaled more jealous cultural forces against him had he been handed a MacArthur genius grant at graduation. There...
Radish split in 1998, and Kweller has recovered admirably. He is now on his second solo album, On My Way, which happens to be his first as a legal, beer-drinking adult. On My Way has some impressive moments, largely because it seems to care so little about being impressive. It feels like a bunch of songs Kweller put together casually and recorded impeccably...
...Most of Kweller's demographic peers approach lyrics like math, and their work is burdened by an oppressive emotional exactitude. Kweller's a pop guy, and he's not afraid to fill out a verse with some la-la-lalas, as he does on the excellent, pace-shifting love song Hospital Bed. At times he's capable of cleverness, but mostly On My Way reveals he's after warm, natural harmonies and moments of girl-inspired euphoria. On the jangly standout Hear Me Out, his various strengths come together for four great minutes of yearning...
MUSIC | Ben Kweller...
Whimsical Texan singer/songwriter Ben Kweller teams up with indie darlings Death Cab for Cutie for a pop-filled night that is sure to leave you feeling all gooey inside. Kweller just released On My Way, his follow-up to the irresistibly charming Sha Sha. Death Cab are touring off their Seth Cohen of the OC approved 2003 album Transatlanticism. Tickets $18. All ages. 6 p.m. Avalon Night Club, 15 Lansdowne St., Boston...