Benmont Tench on His New Solo Album, ‘The Melancholy Season,’ and His Unmelancholy Delight in Being a Survivor: ‘I’m Finally Getting Good, You Know?’

variety.com:

Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic Benmont Tench has not really been out of sight for any truly extended stretch since the Heartbreakers necessarily went their separate ways ….

at least not if you have strong eyesight. Since the death of Tom Petty meant an end to his primary job in 2017, Tench has still been visible in the background as a member of the house band in practically any tribute show that’s worth a damn.

And now he’s moved up to the front line — a spot he’s very rarely taken for himself — as a solo artist with his second album out on his own, “The Melancholy Season.” The new release on Dhani Harrison’s Dark Horse label follows 11 years after his first solo record, “You Should Be So Lucky.” What took so long?

Therein lies a tale, encompassing reasons both mundane (Tench is fine with not being extraordinarily prolific as a songwriter) and profound (as in, a growing family and a health scare).