BEN KWELLER

I'm not much of a Beatles fan. I mean, I am now. Kind of. I dig the weird shit they did with Sgt. Pepper. That was a good Beatles' album. But the ones where they just rattle out some basic '60s R & B love ballad don't rock me so much. Those were their early years. Ben Kweller? These are his early years, captured on his full-length debut, Sha Sha. Sort of. I mean, this kid's young, but he's been around. He's 20-years-old. He's been in a band that released an LP and an EP. They broke up, so he chose to pursue the solo route. He's released two independent recordings, but nothing to the scale of Sha Sha. It has a nice, slick production quality. Not "bling-bling" slick. I'm talking “Come on, Feel The Lemonheads” slick. Which is funny, because Kweller totally wears that Lemonheads influence on his sleeve. That, a bit of the early Beatles, some old Ben Folds Five, and a dash of Weezer. It's total sensitive college rock. Not my favorite flavor, but well-done nonetheless. The only real weakness of the disc is the lyrics. But that has more to do with inexperience than poor writing ability. Though he may be a 20-year-old with numerous musical releases under his belt, he doesn't seem to have had any real life-changing experiences worth mentioning. And Sha Sha reflects that. But give him a few years. The Beatles found their stride later in life. All it took was some time well served.