Brendan
Benson
"Lapalco" CD
StarTime International
Genres: pop, rock, indie rock
StarTime Int'l
StarTime Int'l
285 5th Avenue
PMB #452
Brooklyn, NY 11215
June 17 - 23 2002 |
I've heard a lot about Brendan Benson recently.
This album has received a lot of good press, including positive reviews in many popular
magazines and newspapers. But, until now, I haven't had the chance to actually listen
to the music. As such, I was overjoyed when "Lapalco" came in the mail.
I wanted to hear this album - this catchy, wonderful album - that I had heard so much
about. Was it a disappointment?
No.
Absolutely not. The songs on this album are brilliant. They're catchy,
they're rocking, they're completely irresistable. Not a single track falls flat.
"Eventually," for example, is a sixties-tinged rocker with a chorus that
grabs you by the neck and forces you to sing along to it. This sixties
influence is one of the major staples of this album, as many of the tracks bleed
similarities to bands like The Beatles and The Kinks.
As a result, the music is quite traditional, yet still retains a sense of
originality that seperates it from the majority of what's popular right now. And
while that may come in Benson's way on the road to becoming marketable, becoming big on
the indie scene is much more noble than selling out to the corporate world.
What makes "Lapalco" particularly good are the styles he incorporated into
his twelve songs. You've got the rollicking rock of "Tiny Spark" and
"Folk Singer"; you've got the ballad-esque emotion of "Life in the D"
and "Pleasure Seeker"; you've even got the tantalizing pop of "You're
Quiet" and "What". And, as each tune passes by, you're confronted
with one particular question: where's the bad part? Yet the answer is, of course,
that there is no bad part. Benson doesn't need filler because Benson doesn't feel
obliged to make filler. Benson just makes great song after great song, and is thus
the proud new father of this wonderful CD.
Altogether, "Lapalco" is a wonderful selection of catchy pop/rock.
Although, seeing as though there are a number of negative connotations that are inferred
when using the term "pop/rock", I prefer to say that the album is pop/rock
without the hyphen. Describe it how you want, though, because one thing's for sure -
"Lapalco" is amazing.
90%
Matt Shimmer |