Ben Kweller

Item: Sha Sha
Author: Jamie Pierson

Sha Sha

(2002)

Reviewed by Jamie Pierson

Discogs Apple Music TIDAL Amazon Music Spotify YouTube Music

Label ATO RecordsDecapolisJune 2002

piano rock power pop

Ben Kweller is, frankly, a prodigy. He began writing songs at age 7, formed his band Radish at age 13, got a record deal at age 16. He's now on his own at age 20 and doing quite well. He released his album "Sha Sha" on ATO records, he's been featured on Last Call with Carson Daly, has toured with indie scene superstar Dashboard Confessional, and most recently, will be on the soundtrack for Adam Sandler's new movie. Not bad for a guy who can't even legally drink.

Ben Kweller (or BK) produces something akin to what we would expect from a Weezer/Ben Folds collaboration. There are quiet, quirky piano ballads and soft swinging acoustic anthems. There are also amazing guitar driven power pop choruses and brutal arena rock choruses. BK has a tendency to start a song on one end of this spectrum, swing into the other for the chorus, then back again. Makes for a slightly sporadic listen, but once you get into the rhythm of it, you find yourself liking it. BK's lyrics are currently an enigma to me. I was told by one person that they were all nonsensical, and on some songs like "Sha Sha" and "Commerce, TX" I don't find that hard to believe. But no other music news source has seemed to agree with this sentiment, and the song "Lizzie", a painfully sweet love song, seems to prove intent in writing. (Ben's website features pictures of his girlfriend Liz.)

But if these lyrics are meant to be understood or not, they're well written. Here's a taste, from "In Other Words": Butterflies are passive/aggressive and put their problems on the shelf/But they're so beautiful.

One thing I could say detracting from this album's potential is its sometimes uncanny resemblance to Weezer. "Harriet's Got A Song" sounds so much like something Rivers would write, I thought I'd gotten a special guest track. Many songs have these Weezer-esque moments. But for the most part, the influences are just that, influences, not cookie cutters. BK takes original directions on most of his songs, I spotted a banjo in the background, and I think I heard some piano playing straight out of a Western saloon on "In Other Words".