Rating:
Genre:
Rock
Release Date: 02/26/2002
On
Lapalco,
Brendan Benson enlists help from like-minded popster
Jason Falkner for a golden
power pop record reminiscent of
Matthew Sweet's best work on albums like
Girlfriend. Five years in the making,
Benson's sophomore effort was long-awaited by the devoted fans of his debut,
One Mississippi, which
Esquire writer
Jeff Gordinier listed among "the greatest overlooked
pop masterpieces of the decade." But it's on
Lapalco that
Benson really hones his jangly melodicism and crunchy
bubblegum riffs, fusing influences like
the Kinks,
T. Rex,
the Beatles, and
Paul McCartney's solo work into something more meditative than his debut. The album begins with the electronic keyboard gurgle of
"Tiny Spark," an instant single that sounds upon first listen like you've heard it a thousand times before. And that's not all
Benson can do.
"Metarie" is wistfully repetitive.
"Life in the D" plays
John Lennon's solo career through
Big Star's
Third/Sister Lovers, and you half expect
Benson to break into, "I'm just sittin' here watching the wheels go round and round...." The album has its moments of cringing goofiness, too, like, "I've been a little bit down on my luck, I think you know where I'm coming from. I need a pickup and I don't mean truck, I think you know where to get some" (
"You're Quiet"). But, it's forgivable, especially with the last three tracks,
"Pleasure Seeker," "Just Like Me," and
"Jet Lag," where
Benson stakes claim on a sound all his own -- bittersweet, down-tempo, semi-acoustic, melancholy with a sense of humor and just a little bit psychedelic.
~Charles Spano, All Music Guide
;)
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