Beight

You know how they say “ain’t no party like a Minnesota party, ’cause a Minnesota party don’t stop”? Well, they do. At least, I’ve heard some Minnesota transplants who say it when we compare notes. And if you can get Beight to play at your party, you’d hope the party would never stop. At least until you get hungry for some lutefisk and gravy fries.

Beight is Minneapolis area singer-songwriter Brad Senne, though it looks like he’s got a full band now, too. His music has that lovingly crafted, personal sound that Elliot Smith was so good at. Beight’s debut album File in Rhythm (2005) covers much of the best of pop: slightly dark-sounding pop gems, soaring poppy little brothers of anthems, loping ’60s era pop tunes, and tender shy-shy-shy-shy-shy pop-folk.

I bought this album for one of my favorite reasons: I had to. “Parallels” had been playing in my shuffle and I just had to find a way to send Brad some money to continue making music.

• Listen to “Parallels“
• Listen to “Junior High Smiles“