Ben Kweller (CD - 2006)

Audio Mixers: Gil Norton; Adrian Bushby.

Recording information: The Magic Shop, New York, NY.

Photographers: Ben Kweller; Sam Kersherbaum; Elizabeth Weinberg; Ray Lego; Michael Palmieri.

Ben Kweller's eponymous third solo release continues the melodic indie pop of his first two efforts while stepping up the songcraft and performances. There's a bit more of a quiet, melancholic bent to BEN KWELLER on shimmering tunes like "Sundress" and "Red Eye," but that's not to say that the wunderkind can't still kick out the jams, as on the rocker "This Is War." The artist has roots in everyone from the Beatles to the Velvet Underground to contemporary singer-songwriters like Elliott Smith, but if Kweller's grasp of popcraft and hooks isn't impressive enough, he also plays every instrument on this winner of an album.

On his third, self-titled effort, Ben Kweller takes the notion of "solo album" to the extreme, playing all of the instruments himself. For many artists, this would result in an album that's quiet and insular. However, Ben Kweller is nearly as immediate and direct as Sha Sha and On My Way were, but with a little more focus. Kweller's eternally boyish voice is perfectly suited to his tales of young love, hanging out and heartache, whether he frames them in giddy, impatient pop like "Run," earnest tone-poems like "Thirteen," or a sound somewhere between the two, as on the single "Summer Dress." To his credit, though, Kweller sounds a little more mature on several songs, particularly "Penny on the Train Track" and "Red Eye," which asks the surprisingly direct question, "How long will it take before I have your heart to break?" Equally divided between thoughtful ballads such as "Until I Die" and half good-natured, chugging power pop like "Gotta Move" and "Magic" -- with the occasional feisty rocker like "This Is War" thrown in for good measure -- Ben Kweller treads the same path as Kweller's other work, but fortunately, it still sounds genuine, not formulaic. ~ Heather Phares minimize