MEN WITHOUT HATS play Lee’s Palace November 7. See listing. Rating: NN
It’s been almost 10 years since we last heard from Canadian new-wave pioneers Men Without Hats (The Safety Dance, Pop Goes The World), and in that time a bitter rift has grown between brothers Ivan and Stefan Doroschuk. Both have separately promised to keep using the Men Without Hats name, but this Ivan-fronted incarnation (which features no other original members, and which Stefan calls a “tribute band”) is the first to make good on that threat.
Love In The Age Of War is a straight-forward nostalgia trip, a meticulous attempt to recreate that infectious, bouncy, retro-sounding synth-pop from a quarter-century ago. The best parts – Ivan’s shameless baritone and sweet synth melodies – still work but seem super-dated, in a straight-to-Q107 kinda way. Half the songs sound basically the same, and on others you can easily swap in the tune and lyrics of their biggest hits.
Top track: Everybody Knows
