Ben Kweller

Ben Kweller is already a living episode of Behind The Music, though his tale has a happy ending. At the tender age of sixteen he was a member of the much-hyped post-grunge band Radish. As quick as their rise, was their fall into obscurity, after their album failed to make the impact that many had hoped. From the ashes of Radish, Kweller set out on his own and released the well-received 2002 album Sha Sha, a quirky collection of slacker pop-rock anthems.

On My Way is Kweller’s second solo album and has a much looser feel than Sha Sha’s ‘70s-AM-pop sound. He moves from the call-and-response rocker “Hospital Bed” to gentler acoustic songs like “Different, But The Same” and “Living Life,” which is a straight-ahead Beatles-esque ballad. “My Apartment” touches on similar themes found in Brian Wilson’s very personal song “In My Room,” with Kweller finding his solace in the dark of his home, away from the outside world.

While there are still plenty of goofy lines scattered throughout the album, Kweller does seem to be taking himself a little more seriously this time around. Instead of singing about watching Planet of the Apes and drinking Jagermeister, his writing on this album is geared more as an ode to his new wife. This theme is evident on both “Down” and “Believer,” on which he proclaims, “My path is dark/my steps uncertain/unless I walk with you.”

The songs might not be as catchy as those on Sha Sha, but On My Way exhibits Kweller’s maturing songwriting and it leaves you walking away a little more fulfilled than its predecessor. If anything, Kweller is on his way to making his next album his best one yet.