[Cover Photo Credit to Matt Barnes]
Barenaked Ladies have announced their new album, In Flight, set for release on September 15, 2023. The band’s eighteenth studio may focus on wit and observation that BNL, but it also adds a sense of “maturing and lessons learned.” Alongside the release of In Flight, Barenaked Ladies will also be celebrating the 25th anniversary of their single, “One Week.”
Barenaked Ladies have also shared their newest single + video, “One Night.” The track “addresses the unique relationship the band have always had with their fans.”
BNL’s Ed Robertson says that the song addresses “the magical connection that happens between a whole audience and a band. When it goes right—which it almost always does—for that ‘One Night’ it’s a very intense connection.”
The single is paired with a video directed by Phil Harder (who previously directed six of BNL’s videos, including “Pinch Me”) which “celebrates the magic that happens when two people connect.”
After more than three decades as the lead singer and guitarist for Barenaked Ladies, Ed Robertston has a routine when it comes time to start writing songs for a new album.
He says:
I tend to get ideas while I’m driving up to my lake house. I record voice memos along the way, and then I mix and match the various ideas I’ve come up with. On a typical drive, I’m happy if I get six or seven—eight ideas would be a good drive. For this album, on my first writing trip I had 21 different song ideas. I sat down to write, and I thought if I could finish one of them—get the verses, get the bridge, get the chorus in one day—then I’ll know this whole writing period is going to be good. And I finished eight songs. I sat down at 10 in the morning, and I looked up at 9:30 and I hadn’t eaten, I hadn’t moved from the writing table. It was exciting. I’ve never felt that before.
Produced by Grammy and Juno-award winning producer Eric Ratz and recorded at Noble Street Studios in Toronto, Barenaked Ladies’ upcoming new album In Flight marks a new chapter for the band, one which “offers a sense of joy and appreciation for life.”
In addition to the eight songs written/co-written by Ed Robertson, the album features four songs from Kevin Hearn, (two of which are love letters to Toronto: “See the Tower” and “The Peace Lady”) and two from Jim Creeggan, (“Just Wait” and “Wake Up”). The album also features co-writers such as Kevin Griffin (Better Than Ezra), who co-wrote “One Night” and “Lovin’ Life” (the latter with Thirty Seconds to Mars’ Steve Aiello), as well as Canadian musicians Max Kerman (Arkells) and Donovan Woods.
Barenaked Ladies Live Dates:
Sept 8 Omaha, NE @ Shadow Ridge Country Club (Shadow Ridge Music Festival)
Sept 22 Cincinnati, OH @ The Banks (Kroger Wellness Festival)
