Lost In Austin – Ghost Wolves
This edition of Lost in Austin brings you our homegrown favorites, Ghost Wolves. Follow the jump for more.
Tag: the white stripes
FT5: Modern Rock Stars
We really live in a day and age when the idea of being a rock star is just about gone. Gone are the days of the lead singer who gets mobbed by fans everywhere they go or sleeps in hotel rooms full of strange women. We don’t even get a lot of musicians with drug and alcohol problems anymore or who quite obviously don’t give a shit what anyone thinks. You know, those people who were just way cooler than you ever hoped to be? Dylan, Jagger, Plant, etc. We all know the names. That’s what makes them rock stars. So today I wanted to create a list of those “modern rock stars” who have carried the torch of debauchery and coolness into a new age. These guys (and gals) represent all the great things about being a rock star: alcohol/drug rehab stints, celebrity girlfriends, trend setting, don’t give a shit attitude, members of popular bands, and decent music all earn you a place on this list. As a disclaimer I’ll say that all these artists rose to fame in the last decade so this means you won’t see a Dave Grohl or Eddie Vedder on this list because they have long been in the halls of the greats. I’ll also make an attempt to compare each artist to who they most closely resemble from years past. Please don’t assume that I’m comparing anyone artistically, I just wanted to give you a frame of reference. Follow the jump for the full list.
Brendan Benson – My Old, Familiar Friend
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Lately, we’ve seen more of Brendan Benson trading licks with that one guy from the White Stripes, but when he first came onto the scene, he was a pop crooner. His album Lapalco remains overlooked, despite all the gems it offers listeners. Now he returns with a new record, My Old, Familiar Friend. It’s a return to form, for the most part, though you can see the shift in his writing if you’re familiar with his work.
Opening the album, you see a glimmer of the Brendan of the past on “A Whole Lot Better.” His vocals start low, as they always go, and change to the higher tones mid-syllable. Even the lyrics seem to recall some of the old territory, but it’s the choruses that remind you of the old songwriter of yesterday. But, noticeably, the structure of the songs themselves have begun to change a bit, which is good, considering we all admire growth with our favorite artists.
“Eyes on the Horizon” is yet another example of his growth. It just seems that so much more is going on within the song, and while it may not be as clean as his previous output, you can glimpse the familiar, especially in the chorus. Perhaps the inclusion of guitar solos, of the classic rock sort, give away his most recent act The Raconteurs. It’s a more mature songwriter we find here, which explains a lot of the lyrical content, as the story line in the album seems to revolve around reflection of a lost love.
Just as you thought you had a collection of b-sides from The Raconteurs sessions, at least the ones Brendan wrote, he kicks it up a notch near the end of the album, starting with “Poised and Ready.” While he once sounded similar to the early Ben Kweller, he appears more like a rocking version of A.C. Newman. This second half of the record though is chock full of straight ahead pop rock songs of the most sublime sort. It’s the sort of stuff you know you’ll be singing along to during your days at work. The catchiness of “Don’t Wanna Talk” will surely have you and your friends singing along in your cars. From there you can slide right into “Misery,” which is probably one of the best songs that you’ll find here on the album. As far as song construction goes, it’s probably one of the more open songs, and the extra space allows for Brendan to work his magic for his audience.
Nothing on this album will blow you away with creativity, but if you’re the kind of person that cherishes solid pop rock to go along with a nice long drive, then you will definitely find something for yourself here. Brendan Benson has a quality voice that will keep you coming back for more, as he churns out pop gems with his crafty songwriting and vocal inflection.
[audio:https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/09-misery.mp3]Download: Brendan Benson – Misery [MP3]