BRENDAN BENSON

Low Key (Schnitzel)

One of the key components of Jack White’s Raconteurs is Brendan Benson, who earnt his access all areas pass off the back of a few decent powerpop albums. This eight-track LP is a little slight, although there’s a decent kick to at least half of the set. The piano-driven I Missed The Plane is Brendan’s Beatles obsession in overdrive, with a bit of light autotune studio trickery thrown in at the climax, but on the flipside, All In has an ill-judged modern r’n’b influence and sees Brendan adopt nursery-rhyme style rapping.

People Grow Apart is Another Girl, Another Planet in splitsville, with its acoustic guitar intro quickly switching into powerpop maxed out to 11, fluid chord changes, soaring riffs and a banging chorus of ‘sometimes people grow apart, they grow way way, way, way apart’. Next best is a respectful cover of Gerry Rafferty’s Right Down The Line, which deftly combines the laidback charm of Rafferty’s songcraft with the pop smarts of a tropical Squeeze of Mink DeVille. Powerchords make a welcome return on Whatever’s On My Mind and its Who-like finish, while Whole Lotta Nothin is robust country soul. 

words CHRIS SEAL