Tag: Brenden Benson

Skeleton Staff and Brenden Benson

powerpopaholic
Skeleton Staff

Skeleton Staff “Malapropism”

After a six-year wait, this Australian baroque-glam-pop band Skeleton Staff is back!  Opening with “Investiture” it boasts a dramatic build that draws more from the brothers Mael (Sparks) as an influence. “Is This Thing Gonna Work Out?” contrasts heavy guitar with bombastic verses, but the heavy production almost threatens to bury the melody. “Harlots” is a 4-minute operetta loaded with Queen-like guitars and overlapping vocal parts, like a grand march. It’s that bombast that draws attention, but a song like “Dumb and Proud To Be” has more of a hook, and I wanted to hear more of this. But Skeleton Staff prefers a large buffet of many styles.

The band shifts to dance-pop synths mode for “She Made Me Believe In Make Believe Again” and the funky “You Look Good In Pictures.” The critique of the music industry in “A&R” takes the narrative of a label looking for a band to “just find a viral hit.” The beautiful ballads “Hand Up In The Sky” and piano-led “Bugger All” really show how talented this band is. And “You’re Gonna Fly Too” is another introspective song that does it right, without all the pretentious bits. Those bits take over a few tunes, like “Paranoia Strikes” but overall Malapropism is a very good listen. Check it out.

Amazon

The Nervous Eaters

Brendan Benson “Low Key”

In 2020 Brendan Benson moved out of his comfort zone on Dear Life, and put a band together planning to go on the road. But COVID happened and he couldn’t, so it was back to the studio, and this is the result. He still includes light elements of modern hip-hop in the beats (a source of inspiration) in the opener “Aint No Good” and closer “Something A Little Like Home.” While these are good songs, Brendan is still a master at power-pop melody. “I Missed The Plane” is a superb piano-led tune with McCartneyesque overtones about a lost relationship.

Even deeper, “People Grow Apart” brings his signature buzzing riffs to the front and it is one of the album’s big highlights, along with the Who-inspired “Whatever’s On My Mind.” These tracks are so good, it softens the faithful cover of Gerry Rafferty’s “Right Down The Line” and the soulful introspection of “Whole Lotta Nothin.” As a follow-up to Dear Life, it’s a perfect companion album. Between the two, if he comes to your town during a tour he’s got lots of great new material — so don’t miss him. Highly Recommended.

Amazon

Album Previews: Brendan Benson and Pugwash

powerpopaholic

The Raconteurs’ Brendan Benson has teased his forthcoming album (set for 2018 release) with a new single, “Half A Boy (And Half A Man)”

Pugwash is back with a new album “Silverlake” due for release in November.

—————————————————–

OLD MEDIA NEWS: Rolling Stone is being sold by the ever-shrinking media empire of  Jann Wenner. Like virtually all of print media, Rolling Stone magazine has struggled to stay alive with more and more eyeballs focused on the web. As a music critic, Rolling Stone was considered the zenith of cultural influence and an invaluable affirmation of your credibility. It was so important for an artist to “make the cover of Rolling Stone,” that it counted as having attained rock stardom (as Dr. Hook & the Medicine Show sang below).

But as the years wore on its influenced diminished. It started focusing more on politics, less on music and the reviews were relegated to fewer pages. It did outlast many competitors, but its days as a trusted brand in music criticism are numbered.

 

Brendan Benson and Glenn Robinson

powerpopaholic

Brendan Benson “You Were Right”
On the tail end of 2013 Raconteur and power pop stalwart Brendan Benson turned in his sixth album, an amalgam of singles and unreleased tracks. Benson turned a corner musically with What Kind Of World the year before and “matured” in a sense but You Were Right shows Benson can still knock out minor chord masterpieces will skill. “It’s Your Choice” and “As of Tonight” are terrific songs that match the best in his catalog. His country roots influences are still apparent on the snappy “Diamond” and “Long Term Goal” speaks to the motivation “Have you got a long term goal? Or is it only Rock and Roll you live for?”

This is a solid album without filler and with enough stylistic variety to merit multiple replays. A lot of fun to listen to in a “not-so-serious” way, including the Kinks-ian “Swallow You Whole” and fatalistic “She’s Trying to Poison Me.” My favorites here are “The Fritz” with its dream-like harmonies, Beatlesque guitar and the Stone-sy “Red White and Blues.” This definitely would’ve placed somewhere in my top ten last year.

Amazon

20px_spacer

20px_spacer

Glenn Robinson “Modern Mistakes”
Robinson is a one man wrecking crew from Rhode Island. Opening with a furious riff-tastic melody on “The Worst,” Robinson compares well with Green Day or The Figgs. Its an album meant to played loud, with just enough hooks to keep you humming along.

One of the best power pop songs here is “Wavelength,” its the classic melody/verse combo lead by Robinson’s rough vocal. Other highlights include the punk pop mastery of “Outta My Head” and “Tambourine” could’ve been a track on Kurt Baker’s last album. All the songs are short and sweet; you may get worn out by track ten, but its a sweet ride while it lasts. Fans of Hot Nun and Foo Fighters will also dig this one. Highly Recommended.

Bandcamp | Kool Kat Musik | Amazon