By Scott Jeffrey
I haven’t really listened to Ben Kweller since Sha Sha way back in 2000. The San Fran native has had a number of different singles and albums in between now and then. His latest, Go Fly A Kite is like listening to a completely different artist.
Ben Kweller has certainly evolved since the simple homemade recordings we heard on Sha Sha. Starting with the single Mean To Me, I can hear ben trying to channel a Heatmiser kind of sound only he comes up a bit short. The song is simple but I honestly don’t want to listen to it a second or even a third time, it is talent show material at best not a radio chart topper.
Free has a bit of a southern rock vibe. The lyrics and strange hooting noises seem to ruin this one for me though. Didn’t The Sheepdogs already make this song? Why did you have to sing over it?
The Rainbow is very interesting; the urgency that Kweller delivers the lyrics and the fast and slow dynamic is intriguing. Maybe I just like it because it’s the shortest song on the album.
Time Will Save The Day is also worth a listen, it starts off with an acoustic attitude, until the reprise which is literally just repetition of the title for over 60 seconds. By this point Kweller has succeeded in giving me a headache.
3/10
Take Away Thought: I expected to enjoy this one, but in general the repetition just killed it. He’s emulating, at best, and butchering it. If anything my advice to Kweller, get back to your DIY roots, write another song like Lizzy and record it in your basement. Or just do covers.
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