Forget about the buzz that has surrounded Vampire Weekend, because if music blogs had existed back in the mid-90s Radish would have become a household name rather then a footnote in the career of Ben Kweller. At the tender age of 15, Kweller and his grunge-based trio found themselves at the center of a major label bidding war - all of whom were looking to sign the next Nirvana (a band they were heavily influenced by, check their video for Pink Little Stars).

Radish eventually landed on Mercury Records, appeared on Conan, Letterman and even The Weird Al Show, but hype doesn’t necessarily led to success and their debut album Restraining Bolt was a commercial flop. The band’s sophomore effort was recorded, but never released and Kweller fled to New York City to pursue a solo career - all this by the age of 19. While many could have easily faded in obscurity, Ben decided to do things his own way and slowly built his solo career from the ground up. Read on to hear more about his slacker-infused indie-pop…

When Kweller’s solo debut Sha Sha finally came out in 2002, he emerged with an album full of catchy pop hooks and the big rock riffs from his grunge past. Enough talk, check out Wasted & Ready…

You only need to hear that one once, and you can already sing along right?

Ben’s sound has matured a bit since his debut, relying less on crunchy guitar and leaning more towards a melodic indie sound. Live Kweller is a bundle of energy, bouncing around the stage putting on the kind of show you can help leaving with a perma-grin. See for yourself with this performance of Penny On A Train track off his most recent release…

If you like what you hear I can highly recommend all three of Ben’s releases and come this fall his fourth full length will hit stores called Changing Horses - so keep on eye out for it.

• Further Listening: 2007-03-05 - Phoenix Concert Theatre - Toronto, ON