Push fellow Raconteur Jack White aside, kick two other band members
to the curb and you’ve got some of the best power-pop of the decade.
Brendan Benson consistently churns out sparkling gems of pop
perfection. Although he’s been disguising himself as White’s sideman
for the past few years, he’s been releasing solo albums since 1996.
Lapalco, his second — and completely under-appreciated
— CD, was full of jangly guitars and quipping lyrics. Yet the
Nashville-by-way-of-Michigan singer-songwriter outdoes himself on My
Old, Familiar Friend. A swirling string section adorns “Garbage
Day,” a Motown throwback with witticisms like “If she throws her heart
away/I’ll be there on garbage day.” Rodeo-style guitar bounces around
the repetitive and persistent pick-up attempt that underlies “Feel Like
Taking You Home,” and red-hot organ peppers “A Whole Lot Better,” the
firecracker that opens the album. Benson’s warm voice sizzles like a
hot spring on ballads like “You Make a Fool Out of Me” and “Lesson
Learned.” His self-harmonizing is sugary and singalong friendly. My
Old, Familiar Friend is a piece of pop mastery that you can’t pass
up. — Danielle Sills
This article appears in Aug 26 – Sep 1, 2009.
