Brendan Benson Explains the Lighter Lyrics on “Dear Life”

Nashville-based musician, Brendan Benson, wears a lot of hats. He’s a multi-instrumentalist. He’s a producer and engineer. He’s a husband and new father. He’s an integral member of the band, The Raconteurs, with rock legend, Jack White. And Benson is also a solo artist who, over the decades, has continued to grow and evolve as a songwriter. Benson’s latest LP, Dear Life (out April 24^th on Third Man Records), is perhaps his most jubilant effort to date. Whereas Benson might have leaned into the darker side of a song’s subject matter in the past, with his new album, he’s infused a brighter side, operating with a more appreciative and open mind. 

“I think it’s been a lifelong pursuit of mine to lean into the joyous side of life,” Benson says. “Maybe I’m just getting better at it. Mostly, I’ve always sung about darker, more sinister things. This time, though, I went with lighter lyrics. I didn’t do it consciously, I think I just feel that way.” 

Dear Life is a balanced, entertaining album that’s bookended with perhaps its most impressive songs. Benson, who began writing the album years ago and had to put its production on hiatus a few times, crated an ebullient work. The record, which was sequenced by White personally, begins with the boisterous, boastful track, “I Can If You Want Me To.” It’s a song built on programmed drums, electronic piano and Benson’s signature vibrant harmonies. The song, the theme of which is Watch out. I got this!, is a perfect, puffed chest opener. 

The 11-track record concludes with “Who’s Gonna Love You,” which begins with a Kanye West-like vocal sample and heavy, Dr. Dre-like piano notes. Benson’s voice could be at first confused with White’s on this one, but on the track’s chorus, his more melodic tone shines through. The track, like the album’s opener, is supremely catchy and both were inspired by hip-hop, Benson says, and the relaxed, floating focus that comes from smoking weed throughout the day. 

“I just got heavy into weed,” Benson says. “I quit drinking. I got what they call, ‘Cali Sober,’ I guess. For creative work, it’s great. For songwriting, it’s fucking amazing. It just works for me. It helped me not go down the same roads, to not think the same way. That helped a lot.” 

Benson, who, during the recording process, had to suddenly and quickly move his music studio from its original Nashville building (then set for demolition in the burgeoning city) to his smaller home basement studio, began to work with a more limited set of equipment. But what he lacked in machinery, he made up with curiosity, trial and error. Surprisingly, the experience was better than what he could have anticipated. 

“I couldn’t really play drums or loud guitars,” he says. “So, I just ended up working inside the box more. And I loved it. It got me excited. People might think this record doesn’t sound like me. But I wasn’t worried about that at all.”

The combination of limitations, experimentation and creative freedom helped to jumpstart Benson in new directions. But that should be a surprise. Benson, who began making music in high school, came into the art form as a self-starter on meager equipment. As a teenager, he had a cassette player that he realized he could dub over, so Benson would record guitar and vocals and then, through a quarter-inch jack, he recorded drums, backup vocals and bass to have a complete song. He learned how to take apart equipment. He endured regular minor electrocutions. He was totally hooked. 

“I stayed in my room and wrote songs for the next few years,” Benson says with a laugh. “By 16, I had gone solo.”

While there are millions in the music world who would love to collaborate with White, few are actually able to. Benson, however, is one of those fortunate individuals and it’s a badge he wears with both appreciation and the proper perspective. 

“I’m proud of the work we’ve done,” Benson says. “We’ve been working for together for a long time now so that shows we’re not a flash in the pan, or anything. We’ve co-written successfully together. He’s the main act; he’s the main attraction. But I feel like I’ve contributed to it and that feels pretty good.”

When it came to contributing to Dear Life, however, Benson says all was fair game. He’s a parent, so there’s attention to that side of his life on the album. But he’s also getting older and so he finds himself wondering about what he’s leaving behind on the record, too. Above all else, however, a new and evolved songwriting maturity is what’s most apparent on the abundant record. 

“I feel like the world has opened up again,” Benson says. “I think I was feeling like I was just in a rut. But I learned to be more honest with myself and it felt good. Before I was kind of maybe trying to keep my life a secret because it wasn’t cool to be married, to have kids or be old. But now I’m just, like, fuck it. It’s cool!”