Barenaked Ladies - Barenaked Ladies Are Me

This is another band I've been lucky enough to see live. They opened for Ben Folds at OSU's Orange Peel in 2003. The Barenaked Ladies are a fun band on their albums, and even more fun live. They have a gift to ad lib, and they went into a improvisational song about T. Boone Pickens when they performed in the stadium he just paid to be named for him. Their last album, Everything 2 Everyone wasn't one of my favorites, but they're back, and this time back big.

Instead of releasing one album, this time they've released two. Or one deluxe, depending how you look at it. You can get both online now, or you can buy the first CD this year, and the second next year. The first is titled Barenaked Ladies Are Me while the second is called Barenaked Ladies Are Men. I have listened to both but for now I'll just review the first one.

The CD opens with a pretty song called "Adrift." I like the acoustic guitar and banjo. It kind of reminds me of the kind of music you'd hear on Scrubs, perhaps it's similiar to "Superman." I like the chorus especially. This is music I could fall asleep to.

What I've always liked about the Barenaked Ladies are their insane lyrics. Bank Job is an example of this on the new album. In it, they sing about a bank robbery gone wrong. Why? Well, the bank was full of nuns. I guess they didn't have the guts to go through with it after that. It's all downhill from there.

"Easy" is one of two singles so far released from the CD. I'm not sure if it's what I would have chosen, but it is a good song. There's good harmonies on the chorus, and it's typical love song stuff.

If you're looking for that classic BNL sound, look no further than "Bull In A China Shop." It reminds me of the kind of music they did on Stunt or Gordon, the albums that made me fall for the band. It's sung by Steve Page, like almost all of my favorite BNL songs. Sorry Ed. The Steve songs are more whimsical and upbeat, while Ed songs remind me of romantic pop.

My other favorite Steve song on the album is "Everything Has Changed." I like the use of accordion and banjo. Just an odd musical arrangement. The melody is in a minor key, and it works very well.

The other single released is "Wind It Up." This song starts out with heavy blues guitar licks. It sounds a bit more country than the usual BNL faire. What I really like best about the song is the following lyric:

If you are leaving then I wish you luck
I hope someone can make your heart warm
I was a baby when I learned to suck
But you have raised it to an art form

I like this album. I'm not sure I like it as much as Maroon, but it's the best they've done in some time.

For further reading:
Barenaked Ladies' homepage
All Music Guide's Barenaked Ladies entry
Wikipedia's Barenaked Ladies entry