Brendan Benson (of The Raconteurs) w/ Leatherbag & Michael Kingcaid of WMMF

Brendan Benson is more famous for being overshadowed by Jack White in the Raconteurs than he is for his twelve-year string of intelligent, inventive solo albums. For Benson, The Raconteurs was not just an opportunity to play with close friends Jack White (The White Stripes) Jack Lawrence and Patrick Keeler (The Greenhornes) but also an chance to roll around in the rock, psychedelia and blues that had shaped his musical taste.

His 2009 solo offering, My Old, Familiar Friend, received rave reviews from the likes of Paste Magazine, Rolling Stone, Spin Magazine, and even Pitchfork. Recorded in Nashville and London, mixed in LA, produced by Gil Norton (Pixies, Echo & the Bunnymen, Foo Fighters) and mixed by Dave Sardy (The Rolling Stones, LCD Soundsystem, Oasis) it is a marriage of passion and perfectionism, an illustration of all that is special about Benson - from the glimmer of "Feel Like Taking You Hom"e to the "Motown" swoon of Garbage Day.

Benson's musical approach is detailed, craftsmanlike, fastidious. Take for instance A Whole Lot Better from the My Old, Familiar Friend, in which harmonies, hand-claps, guitar are layered to produce a work of such heart-filled buoyancy, a work that culminates in the sweet, dove-tailing swoop of its refrain: "I fell in love with you/ And out of love with you/ And back in love with you/ All in the same day."

Don't miss Brendan Benson at the Independent on Wednesday, February 24. He will be supported by Leatherbag & Michael Kingcaid of WMMF.

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