This review covers the alternative rock track The Barenaked Ladies – The Old Apartment.
This track was released in 1996 on the album Born on a Pirate Ship.
The track starts with guitars, drum kit and vocals. The vocals take the track into the first round in the main chorus. After a bit, the track pulls back for the verse.
From there, the track takes the track into the main chorus. After that, the vocals take the track into the next verse as the track pulls back.
Right after, the vocals take the track into the main chorus. The vocals then takes the track into the next verse as the track pulls back. Right after, the vocals take the track into a modified main chorus.
The backup vocals then take the track into part of the main chorus. The main vocals join in as part of the main chorus. From there, the guitars and vocals lead the track out.
This track has lyrics that make sense in a completely nonsensical way. It involves the clinging onto memories and attaching them to things even though those things are run down and broken. A lot of people have that to varying degrees, so to varying degrees, the lyrics can be related to.
Meanwhile, the vocals are pretty decent. They have that subtle quirkiness which, given the themes of the lyrics, works well here.
The guitars and other elements are pretty decent as well. They give that track a sense of progression and rhythm.
The only thing I’m not a huge fan of is the fact that there really isn’t much in the way of transitions between sections. The lyrics almost allow the track to just bleed from one section to another. This does make the track a bit more difficult to follow even though the backing elements do a good job at separating the sections out.
Overall, this is a pretty decent track. It’s got some quirky themes and the vocals to match – a combination that does work. The backing elements help differentiate the different sections, though there isn’t much in the way of transitions. Still, this is a decent track all around.
Score
7/10
Drew Wilson on Twitter: @icecube85 and Google+.
