Barenaked Ladies Are Men

by Matt Collar While 2006's Barenaked Ladies Are Me 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 Me 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 Me 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.