Where did Benjamin R come from and why is no one talking about this guy!? Well, I`ll do my best to address that oversight and tell you that you should stop right now with reading this and get rocking to the tune samples below - and come back and let`s talk a bit. "The Other Side Of Nowhere" works. Well. Very, Very Well. Fans of The Rembrandts(vocally, Benjamin r sounds like Danny Wilde mixed with Ric Ocasek), Gin Blossoms, Crowded House, Dada, The Grays, The Odds, School Of Fish and The Caufields will find familiar territory here but updated for the present. This kind of pop is timeless, afterall. It`s a scorcher of a accessible power pop album for all! There`s layers of sweet, brash and crunchy guitars, slippery riffs and heavy smatterings of hot, arousing breathy vocals. Oh yeah, tasty mounds of brash, filler-free guitar that we don`t get enough of! So who is Benjamin r? He`s one Robert Selvaggio who has been a major label producer for acts you know the names of who decided it was time to strike out and work on his own music. Our blessing as this stuff blows the doors off any of the artists he`s worked for. "Recalls Pete Yorn in places, especially on the engaging opening track "Quit". The uptempo "Falling Apart" is another standout, bringing Keith LuBrant to mind, and the melancholy "Tell Me I`m Wrong" also hits the right melodic notes. He also has a way with the ballads too, as he demonstrates on "Beautiful (Ugly Now)", while "Time is Running Out" has a bit of Jon Brion to it. An impressive debut. " - Absolute Power Pop blog. " Benjamin r generally writes in the style of Crowded House, and sounds somewhere in-between Mark Kano (Athenaeum) and - believe or not - Billie Joe Armstrong of Green Day (especially on "I Don`t Need This Anymore", one of the strongest tracks on the disc). But for the more coffeehouse songs, he reminds me a bit of Elliot Smith (check out "Letters"). True, Benjamin r`s expertise as a recording engineer shines on this sonically pleasing debut, but it is the pop rock sensibilities that have won me over. The first half of the disc is remarkably strong, infusing a bar band rock sound with catchy powerpop melodies on tracks like "Tell Me I`m Wrong", "Falling Apart", and "History". The second half of the disc is not bad by any means, but it did not capture my attention as quickly. All in all, a very strong debut." Bill`s Music Forum. Extremely Highly Recommended!
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