"Don’t write me off as an also ran" is what the Barenaked Ladies seem to be saying on their fifth studio album, Maroon. On this album, which may be their most mature effort to date, they tackle several issues that all of us must contend with every day of our lives, growing up and change. Along with the mature content of the lyrics, the music on this album is also a departure from some of their previous efforts, several of the songs almost seem to evoke images of Broadway shows or the circus.
The opening song of this album, "Too Little, Too Late" kicks off with a guitar riff reminiscent of the late-70’s, early-80’s era Rolling Stones (see: "Start Me Up"). This song features a man trying to come to a reconciliation with a past love, someone whom he had not seen eye to eye with in the past, but now he feels that he’s ready for their relationship to work out, but he realizes that their time may have passed. ("You say, ‘why does everything revolve around you?’ You say, "Why does everything I do confound you?’ You say that I pulled the world from under you, you can’t go through it this time, but I can be good, and I would, if I knew I was understood. I can be great, just wait, or is it too little, too late?"; "Record and play after years of endless rewind, yesterday wasn’t half as tough as this time, this time isn’t hell, last time couldn’t tell this mind wasn’t well"). This song may express some confusion about love for another person, but it definitely has a person trying to learn to love himself, but feels the burden of having this realization coming too late ("I’m gaining strength, trying to learn to pull my own weight, I’m gaining pounds at the precipice of too late, just wait"). This is a good, meaningful song in my opinion.
Next, "Never Do Anything" seems to take the opposite route of the character described in "Too Little, Too Late". This character has some great plans for himself and he knows that he has the potential to fulfill his dreams, but he doesn’t do anything to accomplish them ("I can be that, and soon you’ll see that I will never do anything"). Whether the conclusion of this song is sad or not is up to the individual hearing this song, but the character admits that he wouldn’t change his life at all, regardless that he has nothing to show for himself ("When I’m old and grey, I’ll look back on my life and say ‘Give me one more day and still I’ll never do anything’"). I believe we can all identify with this song, at least at some point in our lives.
The first single off of this album, "Pinch Me" discusses a man who is unsatisfied with his life, but instead of taking any active role to change his situation, he continually wishes his life is only a dream and one day he’ll wake up and everything will be fine ("It’s like a dream you try to remember but it’s gone, try to scream it only comes out as a yawn when you try to see the world beyond your front door"; "On an evening such as this it’s hard to tell if I exist, if I pack the car and leave this town, who’d notice that I’m not around/ I could leave but I’ll just stay, all my stuff’s here anyway"). Perhaps this song is discussing a mid-life crisis, or even the fact that many of us resign ourselves to lives which we don’t want to live, but are unwilling to do anything about changing them.
Next, the song "Go Home" seems to be a sequel of sorts to a song off the Limited Edition of the Barenaked Ladies previous album Stunt, a song entitled "Long Way Back Home". In that song, the main character regretted having to leave the one he loved continually at home while he lived his life on the road, but he promised to return one day so they could plan some time alone. "Go Home" seems to want to slap the character in "Long Way Back Home". "Go Home" says plain and simple that if you care about someone so much that being apart from them is so unbearable, then maybe it’s not such a bad idea to return as fast as you can to the person whom you love ("If you need her, you should be there, GO HOME!!"; "If you’re lucky to be one of the few who can find somebody to tolerate you then I shouldn’t have to tell you again to pack your bags and get yourself on a plane")
"Falling For the First Time" talks about the double nature that comes with love, it discusses how you may feel one thing, but may be something completely different. But there is only one thing that you’re sure of, that you’re in love ("I’m so cool, too bad I’m a loser, I’m so smart too bad I can’t get anything figured out, I’m so fly that’s probably why it feels just like I’m falling for the first time"). Another great song along the same line as this, although it may not be as positive, is The Cure’s "Six Different Ways".
"Conventioneers" tackles an issue that we are all too familiar with; being completely infatuated with a person and wanting nothing else than to be with them, but once you are with them, it didn’t live up to your expectations, so you try to find a way out. In my mind, this is one of the best songs on the album, due to the storytelling done with this song, every line needs the one before it and the one after in order to maintain the full effect of the song.
"Sell, Sell, Sell" is a song that is on a grand scale, a song about the movies that seems like it is a movie itself. This song discusses the career of an actor that everyone believed had great potential at one point, but through some bad moves, drifted off into obscurity, only to resurface again one day, but whether this resurfacing describes the actor finally achieving his potential or a considerably less-fortunate outcome is up to the listener to decide. I believe that the best way to describe this song is in the terms of "King of Bedside Manor", a song off the Barenaked Ladies album Gordon, meets Sunset Boulevard, a magnificent movie about a fallen starlet, meets OJ Simpson.
The next song is slightly more upbeat in tempo, but the theme is as serious as the other songs as well. "Humour of the Situation" is about an adulterous man finally getting caught, and has him completely dumb-struck as he probably never thought he’d be found out. Another great song, I believe this has the potential to be the next single.
The next song, "Baby Seat", seems to follow the pattern which began in "Pinch Me", someone that feels the only way for their life to achieve any meaning is for them to escape the situation that they are in. Some people argue that this song is about a cult, but I have a different opinion on the matter. I think that a man finds a woman whom is clearly longing for someone or something to give her life meaning, and takes advantage of her. She doesn’t want to live life for herself or any higher power, but she can live entirely for another person, as long as it doesn’t mean taking any real action on her own part ("You can’t live your life in the baby seat"). This song also features one of the greatest lyrics of all time in my opinion, "If you think growing up is tough then you’re just not grown up enough".
"Off the Hook" is another song that takes on the issue of adultery, however this time it is from the viewpoint of the person being cheated on. After the character’s significant other cheats, he always returns to her, and at first she believes that he is returning to her because he loves and needs her, but he seems to be returning only so she can temporarily forgive him, before he goes out and cheats again. At the end of the song however, she finally gains the strength to free herself from him, as "from now on the phone stays off the hook".
Next, the song "Helicopters" is somewhat of an enigma. On the first listen, it seems to be about a man visiting a war-torn city, but on further listening, you can start to sense something deeper about the song. Like their song "Brian Wilson", Steven Page seems to be placing himself into the role of another person in order to get his point across. In "Brian Wilson", he put himself into the shoes of the Beach Boys legend to discuss the rigors of fame, and in "Helicopters", he seems to be placing himself into the shoes of a soldier in order to describe the life of a musician on the road. Steven Page may be one of the most intelligent lyricists of all time.
Concluding the album is a song about the greatest change of all, death. "Tonight is the Night I Fell Asleep at the Wheel" describes a grisly car crash and all of the surrounding drama, and how the victim seems to not even be a part of the scene. A very sad song, not only due to the death of the character, but also because the character had never been able to tell the person that he loves, that he did in fact love her, she was always the last thing on his mind. In a bitter twist of irony however, this character may redeem himself by having the person he loves as the last thought he has on his mind, instead of her usual position of having everything else come first.
What more can I say about this album? I believe it is one of their finest to date. Not my personal favorite yet, but I sense it will grow on me. On a scale of 1-10, I give Maroon a 10. The Mattrock has spoken.