Benji Hughes is an American musical artist from

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...

. His first album, '' A Love Extreme'', was released in 2008.

''A Love Extreme''

On July 22, 2008, Benji Hughes released his debut album, entitled '' A Love Extreme'' on

New West Records New West Records is a record label based in Nashville, Tennessee, and Athens, Georgia. It had offices in Burbank, California, and Beverly Hills, California. The label was established in 1998 by Cameron Strang "for artists who perform real music ...

. ''A Love Extreme'' is a double-disc album containing 25 songs. It was recorded with producer and

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session musician

Keefus Ciancia Keith Ciancia, better known as Keefus Green or Keefus Ciancia is an American musician, composer and music producer. He has won an Ivor Novello Award and been nominated for an Emmy. Along with his long time creative collaborator, T Bone Burnett, ...

. Hughes' live band during this period contained a rotating cast of members, including Barbara Gruska (of

Jenny Lewis Jennifer Diane Lewis (born January 8, 1976) is an American singer-songwriter, musician, and actress. She was the lead singer, rhythm guitarist and keyboardist for the indie rock band Rilo Kiley. Lewis gained prominence in the 1980s as a child a ...

and

The Belle Brigade The Belle Brigade was an American vocal and instrumental duo from Los Angeles, California, consisting of siblings Barbara Gruska (born c. 1983) on guitar, drums, and vocals, and Ethan Gruska (born c. 1989) on guitar, piano, and vocals. The duo r ...

) on drums; two of Hughes' former Muscadine bandmates; solo-artist and producer Jonathan Wilson on guitar and backing vocals, and Stacy Leazer on bass and backing vocals; Ciancia on keyboards; solo artist and producer

Jon Lindsay Jon Stephen Lindsay (born 4 December 1935) is a Republican former member of the Texas Senate, having represented the 7th District from 1997 to 2007. He was succeeded in 2007 by fellow Republican Dan Patrick, who would later be elected as Lieut ...

on keyboards and vocals, and veteran Charlotte musicians Peter Gray (guitar) and David Kim (drums), among others. The album received favorable reviews from some prominent critics, including

Jon Pareles Jon Pareles (born October 25, 1953) is an American journalist who is the chief popular music critic in the arts section of ''The New York Times''.The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' and

Chuck Klosterman Charles John Klosterman (; born 1972) is an American author and essayist whose work focuses on American popular culture. He has been a columnist for ''Esquire'' and ESPN.com and wrote "The Ethicist" column for ''The New York Times Magazine''. K ...

of '' Esquire'', but it sold few copies.

Other work

Hughes has had several songs featured in television shows, including ''

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'', ''

Chuck Chuck is a masculine given name or a nickname for Charles or Charlie. It may refer to: People Arts and entertainment * Chuck Alaimo, American saxophonist, leader of the Chuck Alaimo Quartet * Chuck Barris (1929–2017), American TV producer * C ...

'', '' How I Met Your Mother'' and '' Eastbound & Down'' (the song, "Kenny", was released as a single on April 12, 2012). Hughes was also a contributing songwriter for the 2007 film '' Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story''. Hughes made a cameo appearance in the 2009 film ''

Gentlemen Broncos ''Gentlemen Broncos'' is a 2009 American comedy film written by Jared and Jerusha Hess and directed by Jared Hess. The film stars Michael Angarano, Jemaine Clement, Jennifer Coolidge, and Sam Rockwell. Plot Benjamin Purvis lives with his mothe ...

'' as Benjamin Purvis' father, only ever depicted in a photograph. In 2011 Hughes appeared on

Jeff Bridges Jeffrey Leon Bridges (born December 4, 1949) is an American actor. He has received various accolades throughout his career spanning over seven decades, including an Academy Award and two Golden Globe Awards. Bridges comes from a prominent ac ...

's self-titled country album. He also appeared on

Meshell Ndegeocello Michelle Lynn Johnson, better known as Meshell Ndegeocello (; born August 29, 1968), is a German-born American singer-songwriter, rapper, and bassist. She has gone by the name Meshell Suhaila Bashir-Shakur which is used as a writing credit on so ...

's album ''Weather'', contributing vocals on two songs and receiving writing credit on three. Hughes released four new albums via his website in November 2014. ''XXOXOXX'', ''Songs in the Key of Animals'', and ''OXOXOXOXOX'' are bundled as a set on 4 CDs or a flash drive. ''LILILIL'' is a children's concept album set in outer space available as a separate purchase on Compact Disc only. ''XXOXOXX'' and ''OXOXOXOXOX'' were later re-released under the names ''Another Extreme'' and ''A Lover's Extreme'' (not to be confused with 2008's ''A Love Extreme'') respectively on May 8th, 2020. In August 2015, it was announced that Hughes signed to

Merge Records Merge Records is an independent record label based in Durham, North Carolina. It was founded in 1989 by Laura Ballance and Mac McCaughan. It began as an outlet for music from their band Superchunk and music created by friends, and has expande ...

and would release a new full-length album in 2016. The album, ''

Songs in the Key of Animals ''Songs in the Key of Animals'' is the second studio album by American musician Benji Hughes. It was released in 2016 under Merge Records. Critical reception ''Relix'' called the album "12 deliciously weird, lo-fi keyboard pop tunes, with Hugh ...

'', was released in 2016. On May 8th, 2020, alongside re-releases of ''XXOXOXX'' and ''OXOXOXOXOX,'' Hughes released ''Spirit Guide,'' a 47-minute long single.

Reception

Hughes' work has received critical praise. ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...

'' critic Mikael Wood called him "something of a cult hero thanks to his brilliant and demented pop records." A 2009 profile of Hughes in '' The Believer'' called Hughes "one of the best pop songwriters in America, a musical autodidact and a heavy-hearted leonine balladeer whose confessions from the world off

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will break your heart."Joe Hagan
"The Ballad of Benji Hughes"
'' The Believer'', July/August 2009. A lengthy 2014 profile by '' New York'' music critic

Jody Rosen Jody Rosen (born June 21, 1969 in New York City) is an American journalist and author. He is a contributing writer for ''The New York Times Magazine''. Career Journalism Rosen served as critic-at-large for '' T: The New York Times Style Magaz ...

commented that Hughes's extensive following among other musicians and other celebrities was such that " may have as many famous admirers as civilian ones", and praised his songs for "the way they toss together zingy pop-culture references and traditionalist songcraft; their blend of hepcat shagginess and poetic precision; and especially the mix of wry and lavishly romantic, of tongue-in-cheek and heart-on-sleeve."

"Meet Benji Hughes, the Best Songwriter You've Never Heard Of"
Vulture.com, April 8, 2014.

Discography

Studio albums

* '' A Love Extreme'' (2008) * ''OXOXOXOXOX'' (renamed ''A Lover's Extreme'' for 2020 reissue) (2014) * ''XXOXOXX'' (renamed ''Another Extreme'' for 2020 reissue) (2014) * ''LILILIL'' (2014) * ''

'' (2016)

Singles

* "Spirit Guide" (2020)

References

External links

New West Records: official website

Benji Hughes on Myspace

Kenny single on iTunes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hughes, Benji American rock musicians Living people New West Records artists Year of birth missing (living people) Musicians from Charlotte, North Carolina Merge Records artists