Ben Kweller Returns After Near-Death Experience, After five years of unintended “hibernation,” indie rock icon Ben Kweller returns with some of the strongest music of his career. He didn’t go away just to go away. Instead, Kweller went on hiatus after being fifteen minutes away from death. “We almost died,” Kweller says. “Me, Lizzy, our two boys. We wouldn’t be here if Liz hadn’t woken us up that night.” Kweller refers to a trip to the mountains of New Mexico in 2013 when his family went on what should have been a winter wonderland vacation and instead resulted in acute carbon monoxide poisoning.
Now at last, he has a new record, which in addition to his good health, comes as a relief to Ben Kweller fans, who, for over 15 years, have endlessly sung along to his anthems and cried to his ballads. They know his gift for jumping through genres while remaining heartfelt and authentic. They also know that nostalgia and optimism were his trademarks long before his run-in with mortality. Now, with the forthcoming release of Circuit Boredom, we are reminded that a light really is at the end of the tunnel, we just have to listen for it.
We’re glad our main main Ben Kweller’s back.
The Fat Angel Sings 