• Record Label: Red Ink
  • Release Date: Sep 19, 2006
Metascore
74

Generally favorable reviews - based on 20 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 16 out of 20
  2. Negative: 0 out of 20
  1. Alternative Press
    100
    This is the 25-year-old singer-songwriter at his most personal. [Oct 2006, p.208]
  2. Ben Kweller is breezy and buoyant, hallmarks of grand pop albums. And this is indeed a grand pop album.
  3. Filter
    82
    Effortless pop with an undenaible solo-era Stephen Malkmus quality that just makes you want to go on a long drive. [#22, p.100]
  4. Urb
    80
    This album has a '60s folk-rock quality that's earnest, sweet and open. [Sep 2006, p.136]
  5. An album so engaging it is impossible to pick one best track.
  6. Spin
    80
    The mini-classic of ultramelodic singer/songwriter pop that he's always hinted at. [Oct 2006, p.99]
  7. Under The Radar
    80
    When the music is this good, it just doesn’t matter much how many times you’ve heard this style before. [#15]
  8. Mojo
    80
    His most honest, touching album yet. [Dec 2006, p.118]
  9. While a handful of the songs sound derivative, it's hard to resist the tambourine-enhanced exuberance of standout cuts like "Penny on the Train Track" and "I Gotta Move."
  10. Despite running out of gas down the stretch, Ben Kweller is still a validation of its creator’s burgeoning gifts.
  11. A beautiful, touching collection of songs, and one which marks an important rite of passage in one man’s career, even if it doesn’t always feel like his best work.
  12. Paste Magazine
    70
    It's hard to imagine a less tortured singer/songwriter than this guy. [Oct 2006, p.75]
  13. Q Magazine
    70
    He finally seems to be getting the hang of things. [Oct 2006, p.122]
  14. Ben Kweller treads the same path as Kweller's other work, but fortunately, it still sounds genuine, not formulaic.
  15. Ben Kweller may not sum up Kweller, but it’s a worthy personal statement from a popster whose chops keep getting better.
  16. Eschewing the live-in-the-studio roughness of 2004’s On My Way, he returns to the fuller production of his solo debut, 2002’s Sha Sha.
  17. Rolling Stone
    60
    A slightly less edgy record stuck between its two predecessors quality-wise. [21 Sep 2006, p.84]
  18. Most sad sack numbers here wallow in a shallow sense of self-pity.
  19. Uncut
    40
    For the most part, Ben Kweller simply suggests Jackson Browne reared on Weezer. [Oct 2006, p.114]
  20. It seems to me that this album has already been made countless times by countless bands.
User Score
8.3

Universal acclaim- based on 16 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 14 out of 16
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 16
  3. Negative: 2 out of 16
  1. tonioV
    Dec 15, 2006
    10
    I could count on one hand 2006 music albums that i could listen from start to end. This is one of them. Thanks M. Ben Kweller !
  2. d.hoov
    Oct 21, 2006
    10
    He plays all the insturments and puts music together as well as anyone. "13" is a quiet song, that is lyric driven but if your patient He plays all the insturments and puts music together as well as anyone. "13" is a quiet song, that is lyric driven but if your patient you'll be in for a romantic, fun, and feel good song. Overall the cd can't be beat, it's got a little bit of everything. Full Review »
  3. claudep
    Oct 14, 2006
    8
    superbe !! chaque nouvelle écoute fait apparaître de nouveaux trésors et l'on sait que l'on tient là un superbe !! chaque nouvelle écoute fait apparaître de nouveaux trésors et l'on sait que l'on tient là un des meilleurs albums de 2006 ! Full Review »