Men Without Hats Im Falling in Love Again
Men Without Hats ride the 'dark wave'
Men Without Hats' Ivan Doroschuk returns with first new album since 2003, Love in the Age of State of war
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An firsthand deviation one notices about the return of Men Without Hats is that songwriter and frontman Ivan Doroschuk is no longer keeping with the Canadian new wave band's eponymous prohibition of headgear.
"I was just trying to give people something to talk about," Doroschuk says of the cowboy lid he wore during the Men Without Hats comeback tour concluding yr and for the group photo for the band's new album, Love in the Age of War. "To remind people that things aren't always what they appear to be."
It's been more than three decades since Men Without Hats — named after the "style before comfort" motto of Doroschuk and his brothers, Colin and Stefan, who all refused to habiliment hats while growing upward in the common cold winters of Montreal — officially formed; 25 years since the release of the worldwide hit, The Condom Dance; and nearly 10 years since their most recent album, No Hats Beyond This Point. While the return might be a long time coming, it was inappreciably planned.
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Doroschuk spent the past ten years not working on music but as a stay-at-home dad, raising his son in Victoria. But during that time, "I was noticing that at that place was still '80s influences all over the music on the radio. My songs were even so in pop civilisation with shows like Glee and fifty-fifty now with the Tide commercial," he says. "My son was seven or eight when he found out who I was through Crazy Frog and the Disney Channel."
Sensing the timing was right, Doroschuk decided to "get dorsum out there and give people the greatest-hits Hats show that they've been waiting over 20 years to hear." Not only was last yr'south resulting tour a great success — with synth-pop anthems such as Pop Goes the World, Antarctica and I Like playing to packed crowds, and the band sharing the stage with idols Devo and The Human League — information technology inspired Doroschuk to compose a whole new album's worth of material.
"It was just sitting in the dorsum of the bus with my iPad and fooling around with GarageBand," he says of the unexpected but pleasant surprise, Love in the Age of War. "I started writing songs because I was immersed in the ring again and the artistic juices started to period and I ended up after the tour with an iPad full of songs."
Teaming up with notable producer Dave Ogilvie, Doroschuk and his new bandmates set about recording the offset Men Without Hats anthology since 2003. While technological advances such every bit the iPad may accept aided Doroschuk'south formulation of the songs, he was careful non to get carried away with the digital earth.
"During the making of this record, Dave and I actually pretended a couple of things so that it would give us the '80s kind of spirit," Doroschuk says. "We went in in that location thinking old-schoolhouse similar the manner we did it back when at that place were no computers, there were no sequencers, everything was done past paw and we had 24 tracks to work with and we used existent synths."
The result is an album that sounds like vintage Men Without Hats, featuring retro synth lines, danceable beats and quirky yet insightful lyrics. So much so that the new track This War was met with equally enthusiastic response among the greatest hits when it was thrown into the set lists at concerts last year. If there is a notable deviation about the new material, though, it's the slightly ominous and urgent tone that surrounds the theme of the album, even on the catchy first unmarried, Head Higher up Water.
"People have been calling it 'dark wave,' " Doroschuk says, acknowledging the influence of Ogilvie, known for his production work of acts such as Marilyn Manson and Skinny Puppy. "But that was ever my programme from the beginning was to evangelize a hardcore message, a more than political message, merely on Tiptop 40. Practice information technology with snowmen and babies and dwarfs and crazy girls, whatever it takes to get your message across," he adds, referencing Men Without Hats' unique music videos over the years.
It'due south clear that Doroschuk is re-energized, and that Love in the Age of State of war is not intended to exist a i-off return to music. The but topic he's not interested in addressing is the absence of his brother Stefan in the reunited band (Colin is credited with contributing backing vocals on the new album). Simply otherwise, Doroschuk'due south ambition is nada short of looking to pen the next Safety Trip the light fantastic.
"Nobody goes into this business organisation without thinking that every song they write is going to exist a hit," he says. "I'm back."
And the cowboy hat?
"It'southward already gone!"
Love in the Age of War is in stores now. Men Without Hats volition embark on a national tour this autumn. Visit menwithouthats.com and facebook.com/menwithouthats for details.
Source: https://edmontonjournal.com/entertainment/men-without-hats-ride-the-dark-wave
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