Quarter Century Classix
New West, 2019
8/10
Listen to Quarter Century Classix
Culled from hotel room recordings that Ben Lee made while touring, here the Australian veteran pays homage to the legends that helped shape his own musical vision.
“Web In Front” starts with acoustic strumming from Lee in a dreamy interpretation of the Archers Of Loaf classic, and Fugazi’s “Blueprint” follows as he turns the post-punk classic into a hazy, atmospheric singer-songwriter tune.
This stripped back formula continues to the twinkling “Car” (Built To Spill), as well as the wispy “Get Me” (Dinosaur Jr.), while one of the best covers, Sebadoh’s “Brand New Love”, recruits keys and backing ambience for this intimate version.
At the end, Lee peels away the fuzz from Superchunk’s “My Noise” but does make this one of the fuller selections, and Beat Happening’s “Godsend” exits the listen with a hypnotic and warm version of the lo-fi anthem.
There’s an impressive list of guests on this recording, including Mike Watt, Maria Taylor and Petra Haden, among others, though the bulk of this is Lee, his guitar and vocals.
If you, too, also were immersed in ‘90s alt-rock, Quarter Century Classix will be a great nostalgic listen.
Travels well with: Sebadoh- Harmacy; Built To Spill- Keep It Like A Secret