Brendan Benson
The Alternative To Love

THE REVIEW

Among the various paths that have determined the listening habits of many music lovers, the most important has become the fad of reading the top 10 albums of the year charts. All the same in the end, and those that differ are almost embarrassing.

Now let me tell you the story of a boy cherished in the USA, followed by youngsters with a passion for roots and the desert, namely rock and country. In essence, we are talking about Brendan Benson and Ryan Adams. The former releases an album when he feels it's time to stir things up, while the latter releases three albums every year. But as Mike Buongiorno (imitated by the great Fiorello) says: that’s another story! Upon first listening to the album, the verdict can be impartial, deeming it ingratiating or with riffs already heard somewhere else. Well, beware of these characters; at most, they might have the Natalie Imbruglia trilogy. An adorable singer, needless to say! However, it will happen that in a couple of years, desperate and tormented by the usual MTV videos, you will return to albums like this one. It's not a masterpiece, but I’ll say this after having well learned the rhythmic lines of tracks like "Flesh And Bone." "What I'm Looking For" seems like a McCartney-esque track, a rocking little tune, but played by people who know the best records of the '60s and '70s. "Spin It Out" can be the Kinks antidote against the San Remo festival, where they always propose the Matia Bazar without Matia Bazar or the Nomads, a group that has now become a logo like Inps.

Sure, some songs suffer quite a bit on this album, but the song "Cold Hands" portends a better future for this young singer; we are only at the second album, hoping he doesn't sell his soul to the next "savior" of the record industry. Meanwhile, the track The Pledge calls upon Scott Walker, and with the excuse, I ask him if I will ever be able to forget Anna Oxa's voice completely. This boy will probably also be proclaimed a saint by Pope Ratzinger! First test of sainthood: Jack of the White Stripes managed to convince him to create songs together, and working with Jack's character is certainly no game for little girls. Second test: for the miracle he will perform if he manages to create a different album from the last three, all the same, by the White Stripes. I conclude by saying that this album is just an alternative, as the title says, to the mediocrity of many artists older than him.