On My Way

Memory Refreshment Course 101.

Here’s some of what critics had to say about Ben Kweller’s 2002 debut, SHA SHA:

"One of the year’s best pure-pop efforts." – Entertainment Weekly

"...a rare pop pleasure." – Philadelphia Inquirer

"Attention! Genius at work." – Interview

Since then, constant touring over the last two years has resulted in a strong and loyal fan base for BK, having opened for the likes of The Strokes, Kings of Leon, My Morning Jacket, and Dave Matthews Band, as well as headlining multiple dates. All of which has driven sales of that album to over 100,000 units to date.

Now at the ripe old age of 22, Ben Kweller has completed his second album, ON MY WAY, with Ethan Johns (Kings Of Leon, Ryan Adams) at the production helm. The new album fearlessly continues BK’s tradition of embracing pop, rock, punk and ballads with a leaner, but certainly not meaner, attitude.

Though still in his 20s, Ben Kweller has already kicked around the music business for a full decade. This energetic follow-up to Kweller's 2002 solo breakthrough Sha Sha finds the former Radish frontman/teen phenom boldly cutting through much of the previous album's precious, alt-rock production gimmickry in favor of a stripped-down, punked-up garage band ethos that sacrifices none of the singer-songwriter's gifts for pop hooks and sly, self-deprecating lyrical observations. The alternately chunky/nervous, aggro-guitar of "I Need You Back," "The Rules," and "Ann Disaster" suggest the Texas native's move to NYC has been as much musical as geographic. While his vocal nooks and crannies may belie Kweller's still-tender age and playfully rebellious spirit, they're informed by a tried and true piano troubadour sensibility on "Living Life" and "Different But the Same," more folk-oriented traditions on "Believer" and the title track and even a dollop of loopy ballad-narrative that falls somewhere between Randy Newman and English music hall on the infectious "Hospital Bed." A timely reminder that great songs are more important than the trends and idioms that too often confine them. --Jerry McCulley