Trust me #117
Sundress by Ben Kweller
I've spent considerable time revisiting the sunshine, open road, warm breeze guitar pop of Ben Kweller over the last month. Kweller had a magnificent run of 00's albums; his debut Sha Sha (2002), On My Way (2004), Ben Kweller (2006) and Changing Horses (2009).
There was a large gap between 2012's Go Fly A Kite and 2021's Circuit Boredom, but Kweller seems to have the bug again, releasing Cover the Mirrors (including collaborations with Waxahatchee and The Flaming Lips) in 2025.
Kweller recently played King Tuts on 10th June, his first Scottish show in a decade and it was an absolute joy. Ben hinted that he will be back in 2027, so maybe another album is on the way - he'll need a bigger venue! Tuts was absolutely rammed. I left wanting to get my guitars down from the loft, plug in my amp and play. Kweller played songs from across his career, beginning with two of my absolute favourites - Thirteen and Falling, with the latter generating a huge sing-song chorus. Talk about setting the tone from the off!
Along with The Polyphonic Spree, Ben must have been one of the first artists that my younger sister Carla recommended to me, rather than the other way round. So it was great to go and see Ben with her alongside me. Even better as Eugene Kelly was also alongside me and Ben covered Molly's Lips in appreciation of The Vaselines.
Carla was overjoyed to hear Wasted & Ready and On My Way. New songs from his forthcoming album sounded fantastic. Ben also played a song written by his son Dorian who tragically lost his life in a car accident at the age of only 16. It was a beautiful moment.
Kweller is a gifted songwriter and storyteller, whether behind a piano or playing acoustic/electric guitar. His warm melodies melt my heart. I was going to write a full blog review of the show, but instead I thought I would focus on a specific song.
Released in the late summer of 2006 as lead single for the third in that quartet of album, Sundress is a four-minute shot of pure, heart-on-sleeve indie-pop brilliance. Kweller's eponymous album might be my favourite. It has such a lovely feel to it, aided by the fact that Kweller played every instrument on the album - drums, bass, guitars and piano.
Leading with a melancholic piano riff, Kweller sings gently to set the scene;
Everybody's trying to be the best
What about the girl with loneliness?
I like your sundress, I like your sundress
What about the girl with loneliness?
Things lift beautifully for the bridge into the chorus;
And from the inside out, you look so beautiful
I wanna hold you, in my hand
The chorus explodes into life, like a burst of sunshine. It's very Lemonheads-y. All warm, melodic and magnificent, heart-on-sleeve, head-over-heels gooey brilliance. So simple, so pure, so beautiful.
I'll do, everything you want me to
I'll do, everything you want me to, do
Things fall back for the second verse, I love the first couple of lines, something Kweller wants to do, a memory he thinks back to and then the realisation as to what he really needs.
I wanna start going on a morning walk
What about the days when we used to talk?
I don't need a smile, from a mannequin
I just wanna hold you in my hands
Then it is back into the infectious chorus. Kweller pounding on the piano and bashing gleefully on his acoustic guitar - what a glorious noise.
After a sublime instrumental there is a tender breakdown into the final bridge;
And from the inside out, you've changed girl, you know you have
Don't make a good thing bad
Just let me hold you in my hands
Kweller then returns to the chorus, repeated with extra emphasis on the beats and rhythm guitar, Kweller ad libbing everything and woah oh's over the top. Sundress is an absolute masterclass in power-pop construction. The way piano and acoustic collide is McCartney-esque, or Rundgren-esque. Brilliant!
Sundress is added to my Trust Me playlist; search for Everything Flows - Trust Me on Spotify or CLICK HERE. Check below for all previous blogs in my Trust Me series.
No comments:
Post a Comment