Plenty To Grin About With New Barenaked Ladies Release

There's something quintessentially folksy about Barenaked Ladies. The band never seems to run out of energy served up in a positive way. Give "Pinch Me" or "Falling For The First Time" a listen. Much of that upbeat spirit is squarely thanks to guitarist and lead singer Ed Robertson. He's like the baby brother you always wanted Mom to give you but were too modest to ask. The Ladies', like every Canadian I've ever run into, know a thing or two about sincerity. Linus Van Pelt, the pumpkin worshipping scamp would've been proud. Nothing but sincerity. They make romantic dysfunction cute. If you think I'm lying feast your ears on "Give Back To You". The bass (Jim Creeggan), the drums (Tyler Stewart) and Ed's sentiments never let you forget they realize a broken heart is nothing to be flip about. What I have always respected about Barenaked Ladies are their intelligent, funny, witty lyrics. Did Canadians write the book on these concepts? Probably not but who could blame us for suspecting they had a hand in it. "I'm Lord and Master of this disaster", it's safe to say is one of those add a bead strings of word wizardry that is capable of making any one of a number of contemporary artists blurt out, "Damn, I wish I had thought of that." Ed's holding her heart when it breaks, then politely gives it back to her. He would no doubt throw his jacket over a mud puddle for the woman of his dreams. "Smile" is the biggest warm hug set to CD that I have heard in awhile. Ed's motives are 100% pure. This is the track where Canada dry wit and country twang mix for a homespun plate of tattered heart bathed in the twinkles of a reverse frown facial gesture. You'd have to be in a fairly deep funk not to at least crack a grin at this simple request. "Did I Say That Out Loud" features another nugget of mind blowing hell yeah from Ed. He's got the wontons to ask: "What's got a hold of me? Alcohol or alchemy?" Excuse me. I have to wipe the incredulous look off my face. Mensa level brain power still exists in today's music industry. Not you standard acoustic she loves me she loves me not homage to amour is it? I'm impressed with how Ed's taken the childish taunt, "Miss me. Miss me. Now you gotta kiss me." and given it a clever grownup rehash, namely, "Miss me. Miss me. Now we got a history." Smarts like this doesn't happen overnight. It takes real, concerted, all hands on deck effort to bring out something this intelligence. "Boomerang" succeeds in combining baseball imagery "not throwing like a girl" with the telltale signs that a woman knows how to follow through in a still growing relationship. A good baseball pitcher masters the art and science of an excellent follow through. "Daydreamin" can best be described as woozy. That's a spot on pitch perfect tactic here. The drums, bass, and piano (hi Kevin Hearn and welcome to the land of Nod) all buckle under the commanding weight of what has to be solid REM sleep. "Gonna Walk" puts Ed's acoustic guitar in the center ring. His easy strum buoys the rooting value of lines like: "Gonna walk. Won't quit until I get to the bottom of your heart." This is the sort of guy women want to marry. They want a show of commitment, even if it's a demonstration of being curious about what makes them tick. Hand claps and a wealth of perkiness put "Odds Are" on the list of winsome Barenaked Ladies offerings. The thumping drum Tyler summons from the kit, along with a slick progression of guitar melody place "Best Damn Friend" in the winners circles. Impeccable harmonies. They sound like the tight knit brotherhood the Ladies introduce newbie audiences to in their stage shows. Much of the music scene today is processed McDonald's style within an inch of its life. That's why "Grinning Streak" the new CD all of the aforementioned tracks stem from is poised to make record buyers do more than just smile. A cartwheel or to wouldn't be out of the question. No layers of bullshit to peel back. Words, music, feelings, core impact. Bravos all around.