MUSIC REVIEWS
Brendan Benson - The Alternative to Love
David Allun Jones
At age 26, singer-songwriter Brendan Benson began a promising career with his 1996 debut, One Mississippi. But when commercial success failed to equate it's critical honors, he lost a major label deal and traversed to the independent route, unleashing the much-heralded Lapalco six years later. Thanks to raised exposure due to a personal and professional connection with The White Stripes (their collaborations remain to be heard), now seems to be the perfect timing to break through to a bigger audience which just may happen thanks to the polished perfection of his new album, The Alternative To Love.
Sticking close to the winning formula of expert lyricism and cheery melodies, Brendan Benson isn't doing anything entirely new, but this time around he's given his songs a meticulous once-over and delivered an all-around solid disc that anyone with a love for classic pop could easily appreciate. Tributes to such greats as The Beatles, Beach Boys (the wistful harmonic outro of the title track) and Phil Spector (the thick mono feel of "The Pledge") run amuck everywhere, creating a worn in classicist mood like you've heard these songs millions of times before. To keep the album from being stuck in the past (not like it's a bad thing), respected mixer/ producer Tchad Blake adorns Benson's soothing acoustic performances with fuzzy production techniques, bringing about a welcome edgier feel.
As with the musical elements, the lyrics also feel familiar with slight eccentricities. Typical coffeehouse confessionals are the order of the day with songs dissecting romance, friendships and the usual introspective thought patterns. A self-proclaimed depressive spewing out things like "I wouldn't mind if I went blind/ Maybe than I'd learn how to feel" ("Between Us") and "I visit hell on a daily basis" (the engaging "What Im Looking For", Benson spends most of his energy discharging hate towards former lovers and friends. He creates a faux funeral for one backstabbing pal on "Gold Into Straw" while plotting revenge on another on "Feel Like Myself" ("You'll regret the day you were born").
Juxtaposing such negative feelings against these feel-good backdrops, makes for an interesting listen, especially when the focus is turned on the always complex drama of love where his penmanship really comes alive. When it comes to romantic relationships, he's surprisingly more passive. Both "Cold Hands (Warm Heart)" and "Get It Together" take a look at once-great unions now hanging by a single thread. With the understanding that maybe they weren't meant to be, Benson opts on bowing out gracefully with hopes that if they're truly destined to be together, fate will bring them back together in the end. Not all of his lovers have given up so easily, though. One of his exes desperately tries to get back in his lie on "Them and Me", but his spidey-senses tingle with feelings that she isn't really as ready to commit as she pretends to be.
Some listeners may balk at the overwhelming prettiness of The Alterative To Love and it's true Benson does lack a certain grit, but he makes up for it with a deadpan that's just as assured as his infatuation with classic pop sensibilities. It's what gives the man character in a sea of dime a dozen singer-songwriters and what makes Alternative a commendable effort that grows on you with every new listen.
