A musician needs self-confidence to shove a tampon up his or her nostril. Ben Kweller also needed it when leaving his band Radish years ago, but listen to what the change brought.

By being a solo artist you get a higher cut of ticket sales, more groupies and complete control of your music. Kweller must enjoy being on his own and critics have embraced his old school style of rock.

This self-titled release is the third Kweller solo LP. It follows the recent birth to his daughter Dorian Zev Kweller.

Now a family man with a wife and child, he can live in the setting of a rock family and continue to write and play every single gosh darn instrument.

The 11 fulfilling tracks open up with “Run.” Acoustic guitars sway back and forth with a melody tapped out on a piano. “I’m not done with my travelin’/ So let’s run,” sings Kweller with his slightly sexed-up folk vocals.

Half of the songs are piano or organ-based, providing support for higher range vocals. The rest of the album is pure rock and it slowly rolls.

“Sundress” starts off darkly and turns into a deep love song. “Everybody’s tryin’ to be the best/ What about the girl with loneliness?” This Kweller character is quite a charmer.

As a multi-instrumentalist, Kweller is capable of layering multiple melodies while encompassing forward-moving chord progressions. This version of rock composing is “Penny On The Train Track.”

Palm-muted rockabilly guitar blends with clean guitar and piano. Considering all the instruments used on the song, a clutter effect is absent. Drums and cymbals do not overshadow the very subtle organ that appears toward the end of the song. This, the longest track on the album, showcases this man’s full potential.

Apparently some Pro Tools were used in the post-production of this album. Every instrument sounds rich and realistic. Recording took place in New York and mixing in London which is basically the best of both worlds.

Besides, only real men go solo and stop nosebleeds with tampons at the Austin City Limits festival.

Adrian Finiak is a music critic for the

Northern Star.