A Michigan-born songwriter who occupies the rockier end of the power pop spectrum (more indebted to
. He continued working as a solo artist for the better part of a decade, releasing three albums of his own while occasionally appearing on other artists' records. However,
remained a minor part of the musical mainstream until 2005, when he began collaborating with fellow Michigander
. The supergroup fared well on both sides of the Atlantic, with 2006's
both cracking the Top Ten in the U.K. and America.
.
Brendan Benson worked alongside songwriter
Jason Falkner, former member of
Jellyfish and
the Grays, during the creation of his debut album.
Falkner co-wrote over half the songs and produced the first version of
One Mississippi, but Virgin Records rejected the album and sent
Benson back into the studio with a new producer,
Ethan Johns. Meanwhile, several of the
Falkner-produced tunes were released via a limited-edition EP called The Wellfed Boy, which appeared not long after the revised version of
One Mississippi came out. As major-label power pop albums are wont to do,
One Mississippi sold fairly poorly despite receiving positive reviews, and
Benson spent the next several years extricating himself from his Virgin contract while producing and appearing on other artists' records.
Released in 2002,
Lapalco marked his independent debut, and its critical success spurred
Benson's return to the majors in 2005 with
The Alternative to Love.
Benson then joined with
Jack White in forming
the Raconteurs. The group released the aforementioned albums
Broken Boy Soldiers and
Consolers of the Lonely, and scored a number one single with "Steady as She Goes," which topped the modern rock charts in 2006. After playing with the band for several years, however,
Benson struck out on his own with 2009's
My Old, Familiar Friend, his fourth solo effort. In 2012,
Benson returned with his fifth studio album, What Kind of World. Featuring the single "Bad for Me," the album was
Benson's first release on his own Readymade Records label.
–
Stewart Mason, Rovi