Not only is this a New Release Tuesday, it's also my anniversary. How are those two things related? Well, I think I might be able to talk my wife into taking me out anniversary gift shopping and this week's New Album Releases column gives us some shopping options. Let's start with the album I've been waiting all summer to hear:
Brendan Benson
My Old Familiar Friend
I wrote about this when it was first announced and I'm pleased to tell you there was one factoid that has changed since that article was written: the release date moved up a week!
My Old Familiar Friend is Benson's first solo album in four years. While neglecting his solo career, Benson and Jack White have teamed up to make two Raconteurs records. Both of those records are excellent and I'm glad to have them, but I've been impatiently waiting for a follow up to his brilliant The Alternative To Love.
I've heard one song so far (Amazon offered a free download of "A Whole Lot Better") and my anticipation has not waned. This has so many elements of classic Benson that I just can't wait to hear the other 10 songs. He's had catchier choruses but this still has a nice hook, loads of layered vocals, and plenty of subtle sonic quirks inside a loud, power pop mess. There aren't many artists working today who create power pop the way Benson does on his solo albums. I read at least one article – the link to which I can no longer find – suggesting Benson might have another album's worth of material ready to go, meaning we might not have to endure another four-year gap.
Richard Thompson
Walking On A Wire
I'm talking out of my ass on this one, but I feel compelled to write about this because a handful of the regular readers of this column will crush me if I don't. I know the name Richard Thompson. I know he's revered for his guitar work. I know he did an album with his wife at the time, Linda, that chronicled the disintegration of their marriage and many consider it an absolute classic.
Article comments
1 - MarkSaleski
i used to be the chairman of the WhyTheHellDoesntJoshOwnSomeRichardThompsonCds committee. it was too exhausting and i had to resign.
2 - Josh Hathaway
He's been around four decades. I need a point of entry. I'm not opposing the committee, Mark.
3 - MarkSaleski
committee sez: Shoot Out The Lights
4 - Josh Hathaway
Done. I'll start there.
5 - Tom Johnson
Mock Tudor and his Austin City Limits set (or, I guess it's technically called "Live from Austin, TX") Josh. Blasphemous as it is, that's about all I really ended up caring about after buying a bunch of Thompson's stuff.
6 - Tom Johnson
Oh, and the Grizzly Man soundtrack, which is very excellent.
7 - zingzing
shoot out the lights is a stone-cold masterpiece. something of a grower, however. then again, i bought it when i was 15 or so, so i guess it took me a few years to figure it out.
as a bookend, i would suggest i want to see the bright lights tonight, the first album he did with linda. (see how those titles work together?) it's a much different album, and surprisingly dark, maybe even darker than shoot... then again richard was always a moribund mother fucker. he totally gets under your skin.