For those who haven’t paid attention to the Barenaked Ladies since their comical hit single “One Week” in 1998, the group doesn’t wallow as deeply in humor as they did in the ‘90s. Aging and possibly even maturation has reached the band, for better or for worse.
When the band takes a crack at serious songwriting in its new album, “All in Good Time,” the results are vastly more relatable. “I Have Learned” is the best of a track listing which contains a much higher proportion of serious songs than previous releases.
But the songs aren’t very fun. On the track “Four Seconds,” the group breaks into a rap much like “One Week,” and the song instantly separates itself from the rest of the pack. Even if the lyrics don’t necessarily make sense, it’s a fun song.
After a while, the simple nature of the rhyming patterns in some songs grates on the ears. The band’s decade-old song “Alcohol” has the same problem, except that it’s in good humor. Its lyrics, “You run away, you could turn and stay, but you run away from me,” are hardly melodic.
The mature side of the Barenaked Ladies has been duly noted, but they should stick with what they know.
