Barenaked Ladies Are Men

Performer: Barenaked Ladies
Producer: Barenaked Ladies
Distributor: WEA (Distributor)

Notes: This is an Enhanced CD, which contains both regular audio tracks and multimedia computer files. Barenaked Ladies: Kevin Hearn (vocals, guitar, keyboards); Ed Robertson, Steven Page (vocals, guitar); Jim Creeggan (vocals, strings, bass instrument); Tyler Stewart (drums, background vocals). Less than six months after Barenaked Ladies released the well-received BARENAKED LADIES ARE ME in 2006, the good-natured Canadian pop/rock group issued a collection of additional songs recorded during that album's sessions, cleverly entitled BARENAKED LADIES ARE MEN. Like the earlier outing, MEN finds singer/guitarists Ed Robertson and Steven Page and the crew in a relatively straight-ahead mode, often replacing their signature goofiness with a refreshingly streamlined sound, as best revealed on the serene, shimmering "Serendipity" and the jazzy, piano-driven "Beautiful." Even when the band veers into humorous territory, the songs are not as self-consciously quirky as in the past, most notably on the horn-laden, Randy Newman-esque "Angry People." Other highlights of this solid offering include the energetic "Down to Earth," which is propelled along by an insistent beat and bright New Wavey keyboard lines, and "Half a Heart," a thoughtful, folk-tinged track. A top-notch set that once again reinforces why BNL has such a devoted following, BARENAKED LADIES ARE MEN showcases the act's sharp sense of popcraft even more than its sense of humor. While 2006's Barenaked Ladies Are Men was an enjoyably melodic and heartfelt album, Barenaked Ladies' 2007 companion album Barenaked Ladies Are Men bests its predecessor by throwing in just a bit more wit, sparkle and pop. Where Are Men was low-key and mature, Are Men is a just a bit more energized and in some ways features a few more memorable hooks. Songs like "Something You'll Never Find," "Angry People," and "Down to Earth" are catchy, playful Beatles-meet-Crowded House-meet-the Cars kind of pop and should definitely appeal to longtime fans of the band. However, there are still some mature, laid-back moments including the Burt Bacharach-inflected ballad "Beautiful" and the singer/songwriterly "Half a Heart" which, while still retaining a sense of irony and wit, reveal just how skillful lead singers Steven Page and Ed Robertson have become at writing devastatingly poignant songs. Though fans of the band may appreciate the group's prolific output, the need to release two full studio albums would seem fairly dubious were it not for the generally high quality of the tracks on the two albums. In that light, though they are separate releases, taken together Barenaked Ladies Are Men and Barenaked Ladies Are Men should not only stand as a creative high point for the Canadian rockers, but a truly superb would-be double-album. ~ Matt Collar

Most alternative rock of the 1990s was based on purging one's demons over a wall of distorted power chords, but bands like Barenaked Ladies showed that tunefulness and carefree pop ditties weren't completely extinct. Hailing from Canada, this purposefully nerdy group built a solid fanbase throughout the '90s who spread the word of the band's raucous shows and dashing pop through word of mouth and traded tapes, before breaking through commercially with 1998's STUNT and its number one single, "One Week."

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