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From The Desk Of Rhett Miller: Ben Kweller

Rhett Miller cut his teeth with the alt-country Old 97’s, but years before the band released Too Far To Care, the catchiest and most compelling distillation of its cow-punk-meets-Brit-Invasion template, Miller put out his own little-heard first solo album, Mythologies. Now 2,800 miles from Dallas, where he got his start, Miller is a family man and has released his fifth studio album, The Dreamer. On all counts, the LP marks a return to basics for Miller after three studio albums that toned down the twang, ratcheted up the pop smarts and layered on the studio frills. Miller will be guest editing magnetmagazine.com all week. Read our recent feature on him.

Miller: BK is a freakin’ beam of light. His personality shines through his music, sweet and audacious and complex and, ultimately, positive. His new record, Go Fly A Kite (Noise Co.), is a career milestone. The digital booklet alone is worth the price of the iTunes album download. In it, Ben teaches you not only how to play guitar, but also how to write songs. And the songs he’s written for Go Fly A Kite are absolute greatness. Lyrical depth, musical punch and swoon and cleverness but not for its own sake. Ben, who has already amassed an impressive back catalog, has a great future ahead of him. That said, his right now is pretty awesome.