Men Without Hats
Love In the Age of War
(Cobraside)
Tight drums, arpeggiated, driving keys, some arcade game-like background sounds and a sing-able chorus on “Devil Comes Round†opens the new Men Without Hats album, Love In The Age Of War. A sweeter lilt, but just as driving keys make “Head Above Water†a nice showcase for band leader Ivan Doroschuk’s voice.
“This War† is what all these songs have been leading up to and, as Ivan himself says of this album, “I see a general unease everywhere I go and that’s kind of what the album is about.”
“Live And Learn†has an interesting lyric and, like “Head Above Water,†I wonder, if somebody had backed off on the thrumping keys, might these tunes have benefitted? I know this is MWH’s sound, but when one takes a listen to this band’s excellent, overlooked, Pop Goes The World album, where Ivan and the boys employed a more acoustic approach by hiring Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull to play flute on a tune (!), one realizes that this band (presently MWH is Ivan, his brother Colin, Lou Dawson and James Love) is capable of getting by without the keys for a song or two.
“Close To The Sun†employs slower, airier-sounding (still arpeggiated) keys and a doubled vocal to create a nice ballad. This might be the best song here. The title track is a pretty good mover–Ivan’s limited voice pushes the same sounds along well and there is a good, poppy chorus.