Product Description

'The Alternative To Love' is the third album by Detroit based singer-songwriter Brendan Benson. This album bears all ofthe hallmarks of Brendan Benson's style, with witty yet poignant lyrics set to Beatles-esque pop melodies. Includes thesingle 'Spit It Out'.

Track Listing

1. Spit It Out
2. Cold Hands (Warm Heart)
3. Feel Like Myself
4. Alternative To Love
5. The Pledge
6. Them and Me
7. Biggest Fan
8. Flesh and Bone
9. Get It Together
10. Gold Into Straw
11. What I'm Looking For
12. Between Us

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #4825 in Music
• Released on: 2005-03-14
• Number of discs: 1

Amazon.co.uk Review
At the beginning of "Feel Like Myself", the third track on Alternative to Love, Brendan Benson sings, "You'll be sorry the next time you see me." It's almost like he's predicting the critics, many of whom will judge this album on what it is not--namely, in the same league as his previous album, Lapalco, one of the most perfect power-pop albums ever. It was always going to be a hard act to follow, particularly as that album by no means made Benson a superstar. So you can't blame him for not trying as hard on Alternative to Love. Benson is a talented singer-songwriter, and he should be admired at the very least for never wallowing in the acoustic twaddle that marks so many of his contemporaries. His canny ear for a tune is still present, as heard on "Spit It Out", or the Phil Spector tribute that is "The Pledge" (complete with echoing drums and bells). But the tone of Alternative to Love is less playful, more introspective and occasionally more bitter than its predecessor. Judged as an example of American power-pop, it's really very good. Brendan Benson will just have to work that much harder to get out of Lapalco's shadow. --Robert Burrow

Album Description
The Alternative to Love feels like the precisely calibrated offspring of its predecessors - brighter than Lapalco, not quite as big a sugar-rush as Mississippi. According to Brendon Benson, "It's a nice kind of blend of the two". Despite his professed allergy to singer-songwriter syndrome, Benson has been doing more acoustic gigs the past few years, which played into the songwriting process. And while the songs are mostly about love, heartbreak, and connection, the context isn't always romance - Bensons also draws on harder life experience, like being abandoned by his father, and the death of his grandfather who raised him.

Customer Reviews

This is very good stuff - more please
This alblum has been playing on my PC, on repeat, all afternoon. The lyrics, the voice, the guitar, drums and electric piano have all engraved themselves into the frontal lobes of my brain. I've enjoyed this album for sometime but this afternoon I've enjoyed it even more...

Brendan is undoubtedly very talented. This recording is as fine a collection of pure power pop masterpieces as you'll ever find. There isn't a duff track here.

"Spit it out" sets the tone perfectly and three tracks later "Alternative to Love" is steadily maintaining things at 'full steam ahead' speed. "The pledge" is actualy, a very good Spector-esque wall of sound number that provides welcome respite - I like it. The last furlong; "Get it together" through to the wonderful "Between us" had me reaching for my air guitar and may actually force me to plug in my 335 and switch on my Vox. Sterling silver stuff. If you like Matthew Sweet, you'll love this.

v gd album
this is a very good album by a talented guy! his best album, that is to be debated against lapalco! the only really, no so good song here is the pledge! all the other songs are brilliant catchy and really good pop rock songs! its just a bit diff. he doesnt sound like anybody else. a bit of a niche even?! its all good!

What was I thinking...?!
In a state of great expectation after the joy that was 'Lapalco' I bought this album on the back of its first single, 'Spit it out.'

And that is more or less exactly what I did. I half played it, and filed the CD in my collection under "B". (Yup, I Alphabetize my CD's. I do need to get out more, you're right..)

Quelle idiot!

Having heard, 'Cold Hands, Warm Heart' played in a recent episode of Smallville, I thought, "Hey, what a great song..must track it down." Only to discover I already had it on this album. D'oh!

Needless to say, I have since revisited this album many times and have begged the Gods of popular music for their forebearance in the face of my fickleness.

'The Alternative to Love' really is a damn fine piece of kit in its own right. Brendan Benson must surely be one of the best lyric writers on the current scene. Small wonder he's bezzie mates with Jack White and ex-Jellyfish Jason Faulkner.

I ask thee...How can you not fall in love with a bloke who puts pictures of his ginger tom cat on all his albums? More cats in music, I say!

'Feel like Myself Again' is a little slice of genius pie. A definite Monday morning motivator, I played the track on repeat 7 times in one sitting. Every time It played I felt a little bit bouncier, until at last its melody floated me - Violet Beauregarde style - all the way to work.

Larry was a pretty happy boy as we all know, but I reckon Phil Spector would give him a run for his money after hearing 'The Pledge'. Writing a song that does justice to Spector's famous 'wall of sound' is no mean feat, but Benson comes up trumps.

Like me, if at first you don't succeed with this CD try it again. After all, you can't lose anything and you may reap the rewards repeated listenings will bring.

Benson claims, "we are all searching for the Alternative to love". He should try Amazon. It's where I found my copy and I'm jolly glad now that I did.