Barenaked Ladies – Detour de Force

Barenaked Ladies are unabashedly what they are, cheery Canadians, and have been since their nineties boom....
Barenaked Ladies : Detour de Force
7.8 Raisin'
2021 
Barenaked Ladies : Detour de Force

Barenaked Ladies are unabashedly what they are, cheery Canadians, and have been since their nineties boom. They were never really that alternative, or deeply rocking. They’re the kind of act whose big hits either references TV shows (the X-Files nod in “One Week”), or are out-and-out TV theme songs (The Big Bang Theory). New album Detour de Force is likewise cheery everyday life.

Here are some of the topics that singer/founder Ed Robertson covers on Force: “The National Park”, “Bylaw”, even the ignorance of “Flat Earth”. There are also numerous looking backs, from his childhood by a “Man Made Lake” to “Live Well” and even specifically about his Barenaked career (including citing both “One Week” & Big Bang in a “One Week”-like pseudo rap), “Good Life”. But the band has the skill to make the songs catchy, and the lyrics stay in your ear. Some obviously work better than others, with standouts such as “Man Made Lake”, “Flat Earth”, cheery open “Flip”, and sweeping take on inattention in the face of the “New Disaster”.

Decades removed from the nineties, and Big Bang isn’t even on TV anymore (save everlasting syndication), Barenaked Ladies aren’t going to change themselves at this point. And if you like this very likable band, you’ll like Detour de Force.

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