Barenaked Ladies Are Men CD

Less than six months after Barenaked Ladies released the well-received BARENAKED LADIES ARE ME in 2006, the good-natured Canadian pop/rock group issued a collection of additional songs recorded during that album's sessions, cleverly entitled BARENAKED LADIES ARE MEN. Like the earlier outing, MEN finds singer/guitarists Ed Robertson and Steven Page and the crew in a relatively straight-ahead mode, often replacing their signature goofiness with a refreshingly streamlined sound, as best revealed on the serene, shimmering "Serendipity" and the jazzy, piano-driven "Beautiful." Even when the band veers into humorous territory, the songs are not as self-consciously quirky as in the past, most notably on the horn-laden, Randy Newman-esque "Angry People."

Other highlights of this solid offering include the energetic "Down to Earth," which is propelled along by an insistent beat and bright New Wavey keyboard lines, and "Half a Heart," a thoughtful, folk-tinged track. A top-notch set that once again reinforces why BNL has such a devoted following, BARENAKED LADIES ARE MEN showcases the act's sharp sense of popcraft even more than its sense of humor.

Barenaked Ladies: Kevin Hearn (vocals, guitar, keyboards); Ed Robertson, Steven Page (vocals, guitar); Jim Creeggan (vocals, strings, bass instrument); Tyler Stewart (drums, background vocals).

This is an Enhanced CD, which contains both regular audio tracks and multimedia computer files.