Grin and Bare It

This week, the Barenaked Ladies released a new album, their second since the departure of singer Steven Page. It's titled Grinning Streak, and that's an appropriate contrast to the songs of their previous album, All in Good Time.

Band leader (and principal songwriter) Ed Robertson has indicated in several interviews that there was a lot of turmoil in his life during the last album, and that's reflected in the fact that the more powerful tracks there were the melancholy ones. By contrast, this new album swings back strongly to the sort of bouncy fun that has been the hallmark of the band from the beginning.

But it's a bit different for the band as well. To my ear, it sounds like Barenaked Ladies is reaching for their most "pop music" sound ever. It's an approach that I think yields mixed results. My two favorite tracks on the album are "Odds Are" and "Did I Say That Out Loud?" The tracks have a somewhat similar sound, employing more basic rhythms, simple lyrics, and a few techniques that I'd associate with the boy band toolbox -- stop-and-start instrumentation and unison chanting in the chorus. Part of me is whispering that I'm not supposed to like them, but they are truly catchy songs.

And yet there are other songs that play with things like computer-processed vocals ("Off His Head") and drum machine percussion ("Keepin' It Real"), that I find far less effective. Plus of course, the obligatory song written and sung by pinch-voiced keyboardist Kevin Hearn; that's always been my least favorite track of any Barenaked Ladies album, and this album's entry ("Daydreamin'") is no exception.

I'd say this is a slightly weaker effort than All in Good Time, though the album certainly has its highlights. I'd grade it a B overall.