Benji Hughes is an American musical artist from

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 United ...

. 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 and Athens, Georgia. It previously had offices in Burbank, California and Beverly Hills, California. From 2013 to 2018, New West's records in the U.S. were distributed by Alternative Distrib ...

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

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

session musician

Keefus Ciancia Keefus Ciancia is an American film and television composer, music producer, and musician. He has won an Ivor Novello Award, BAFTA, and a BMI Film & TV Award. He has composed and produced music for ''True Detective'', ''Killing Eve'', '' London S ...

. 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 is the lead singer, rhythm guitarist, and keyboardist for the indie rock band Rilo Kiley. Lewis gained prominence in the 1980s as a child ...

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 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 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'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' and

Chuck Klosterman Charles John Klosterman (; born June 5, 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 Magaz ...

of ''

Esquire Esquire (, ; abbreviated Esq.) is usually a courtesy title. In the United Kingdom, ''esquire'' historically was a title of respect accorded to men of higher social rank, particularly members of the landed gentry above the rank of gentleman ...

'', but it sold few copies.

Other work

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

Beverly Hills, 90210 ''Beverly Hills, 90210'' (often referred to as ''90210'') is an American teen drama television series created by Darren Star and produced by Aaron Spelling via his production company Spelling Television. The series ran for 10 seasons on Fo ...

'', ''

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 produce ...

'', ''

How I Met Your Mother ''How I Met Your Mother'' (often abbreviated as ''HIMYM'') is an American sitcom created by Craig Thomas (screenwriter), Craig Thomas and Carter Bays for CBS. The series, which aired from September 19, 2005, to March 31, 2014, follows main char ...

'' and ''

Eastbound & Down ''Eastbound & Down'' is an American sports comedy television series that was broadcast on HBO, and created by Ben Best, Jody Hill and Danny McBride. It stars McBride as Kenny Powers, a former professional baseball pitcher who, after a career ...

'' (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. The film is about a teenage author whose fa ...

'' 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 is known for his Leading actor, leading man roles in film and television. In a career spanning over seven decades, he has received List of awards and nominations received by ...

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

Meshell Ndegeocello Meshell Ndegeocello ( ; born Michelle Lynn Johnson on August 29, 1968) is an American singer-songwriter, poet, and bassist. She has gone by the name Meshell Suhaila Bashir-Shakur which is used as a writing credit on some of her mid-career work. ...

'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 8, 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 expand ...

and would release a new full-length album in 2016. The album, '' Songs in the Key of Animals'', was released in 2016. On May 8, 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'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

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

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

'' 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 ''Vulture'' is an American entertainment news website. It is the standalone pop culture section of ''New York'' magazine. Its tagline is "Devouring Culture". History ''Vulture'' debuted in April 2007 as an entertainment blog on nymag.com, the w ...

, 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) * '' Songs in the Key of Animals'' (2016)

Singles

* "Spirit Guide" (2020)

References

External links

Benji Hughes Artist Site

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