Rating: NNN
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The latest addition to the canon of solo projects by artists who want to assert a more “mature” persona than that associated with their band, the Vanity Project is an, er, vanity project helmed by Barenaked Lady Steven Page along with his pal Stephen Duffy (probably best known as the dude who ditched Duran Duran before they got famous). Their self-titled debut offers low-key pensive pop with dashes of Cars-style retro pop and Spectorish experimentation, but stays pretty close to the vibe of BNL’s Maybe You Should Drive disc. Instead of the Chicken Dancing goof, we get a sombre Page reflecting on the high price of fame, faltering relationships and global politics. Quite a bit about global politics, really. It’s quite pleasant, although without the shiny happy production of an arena-ready BNL disc, it’s hard to ignore the strained quality of Page’s nasal tenor.
