BEN KWELLER

Go Fly A Kite
The Noise Company/Shock Records

2009’s Changing Horses found puppy faced singer Ben Kweller returning to his hometown of Texas and making his most unashamedly country sounding record to date.

Three years on and Kweller is clearly settled and feeling comfortable in his own skin, with his latest album sounding like a retrospective look at his years as a solo artist.

Go Fly A Kite finds Kweller delving into the full spectrum of tricks from his kit bag to show why he was long considered the heir apparent to Evan Dando. There are instantly hummable slacker pop tunes in the form of Jealous Girl, some more straight ahead rockers like Time Will Save The Day, and a hint of the Monkees-meets-The-Cardigan’s country of his last release with Out The Door.

With his sizeable jowls, mop of hair and thick drawl, Kweller still comes across as the ragged youth that had to sleep in his car at 16, which causes songs like Full Circle where he ponders his place, to lack some bite. For a chap with such pop smarts, it is the slower burns like The Rainbow that offer the most appeal.

There is no doubting that Kweller is a talented little scamp and Go Fly A Kite has its fair share of ear candy, but maybe it is time that he aimed a tad higher.

Score: 3.5/5

_CHRIS HAVERCROFT

xpressradio by X-Press Magazine

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