Ben Kweller, Sha Sha.(Sound Recording Review)

(ATO)

Prodigy and genius Ben Kweller, signed to a label since he was fourteen, is heir to one of rock's richer niches, the pianist/vocalist/composer, occupied of late by the likes of Elton John, Billy Joel, Tori Amos, Randy Newman, Bruce Hornsby, and Ben Folds, following in a grand tradition which has included Bobby Short, Mel Torme, Nat King Cole, and Hoagy Carmichael. Yep, his songs are that precocious, that good. Sha Sha runs the stylistic gamut of influences from the Velvet Underground ("How It Should Be") to The Replacements by way of Nirvana ("Wasted & Ready") all the while displaying an ear for pop hooks, melody if you will, like E. The astonishing "Family Tree" lopes gently through unaffected Nashville harmonies, enveloped in a Rubber Soul-era Beatles guitar arrangement.

Kweller dwells on the usual post-teen fare: oblivion, hangin' with chicks, and the emotional hiccups the occasional chick delivers. His lyrics reveal a gift for quirky metaphors and frank observation: "That's my new best friend. Ann Disaster's her name./We're passing out on the carpet, and our attributes are the same." ("Commerce, ...