Top

music

Stories

 

Ben Kweller

Ben Kweller's sound is constantly evolving. It's shifted from garage-band yelps to piano-ballad coos, from electric feedback to acoustic resonance. This time, to quote Alan Jackson, "He's gone country, back to his roots." Permeated with down-home charm, Kweller's new album Changing Horses was recorded the old-fashioned way: self-produced, put to tape live, with a full band and with nary a computer in sight. It marks Kweller's first complete rock departure, diving Stetson-first into the country soundtrack of his Metroplex childhood in Greenville. Opener "Gypsy Rose" slides lazily in and out of time to the bluesy dobro of Kitt Kitterman, who also masterfully tinkers the pedal steel on inspirational big-tent-revival tune "Fight." Kweller penned the poignant, simple elegy "Ballad of Wendy Baker" when he was just 16, and it's undeniably the most heart-wrenching tale in his catalog; almost jarringly, the album then switches gears into "Sawdust Man," where the come-hither refrains of a big-rig trucker mix with Kweller's sprightly piano work. Kweller's music momentarily lost its sincerity on 2006's Ben Kweller, where he dabbled with pitch-altering software, but Changing Horses more than atones for that transgression.

 
My Voice Nation Help
 

Concert Calendar

  • June
  • Tue
    18
  • Wed
    19
  • Thu
    20
  • Fri
    21
  • Sat
    22
  • Sun
    23
  • Mon
    24
Houston Event Tickets
©2013 Houston Press, LP, All rights reserved.
Browse Voice Nation
  • Voice Places Houston

    Voice Places

    Find everything you're looking for in your city

  • Happy Hour App

    Happy Hour App

    Find the best happy hour deals in your city

  • Daily Deals

    Daily Deals

    Get today's exclusive deals at savings of anywhere from 50-90%

  • Best Of

    Best Of...

    Check out the hottest list of places and things to do around your city