Review Summary: You should consider listening to some bearded men
I do not, unfortunately, have a beard. In the eyes of this band, that alone may be a crime enough to sentence me to eternity in the fires below. Until they rise to power, however, I've been fortunate enough to be able to listen to their music instead.
The Beards are a four-piece comedy rock band from Australia who sing entirely about, well, beards. This seems like a very narrow concept to write around, but
Having a Beard is the New Not Having a Beard is their third full-length album based entirely around facial hair. This is the first album of theirs I have heard, and from the music it's easy to tell that The Beards are not at all tired of their subject matter.
The songs are lively, consistent in quality, fun (even if you ignore the beards throughout), and have a surprising variety in style. The album kicks off with a fairly straightforward rocker with
I'm in the mood... for Beards, but songs such as
Bearded Nation and
Still Got My Beard (amongst others) show off influences from the worlds of blues and jazz, used to great effect to stop the album becoming tiring.
Whilst the lyrics are necessarily straightforward, the album is riddled with catchy lines and choruses which are very simple to pick up and definitely have the tendency to stick in your head - particularly in
You Should Consider Having Sex With a Bearded Man, which appears to be something of a fan favourite. The Beards write their music with something of an amused self-awareness which means that the album never strays beyond humorous into the realms of sheer absurdity.
But, yes, it's
all about beards. My primary concern with this album is how long that'll be enough to keep me grinning. Once the fun of this album's bearded nature wears off, I don't know for how long The Beards will remain a regular feature in my listening. Although the music itself is very good, I fear the beards may eventually overwhelm me and I'll need to go and listen to something dark and serious for a bit.
All in all, I'm not sure how long this album will hold its appeal for. But if you can stomach the humour, until the moment comes when you finally get sick of beards, you might well love this one.
Recommended Songs:
You Should Consider Having Sex with a Bearded Man
I'm in the Mood... For Beards
Still Got My Beard
The Beards are:
Johann Beardraven
Nathaniel Beard
Facey McStubblington
John Beardman JR.
The number of times I used the word "Beard" in this review: 26
The number of times the word "Beard" appears in the album's lyrics: Lots
