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Barenaked Ladies Prepare for Upcoming 15th Studio album

Barenaked Ladies are planning a pair of new releases this year -- with music the four group members are confident may surprises some fans. The main effort is being put behind BNL's 15th studio album, which the group is currently working on with co-producer Gavin Brown at Noble Street Studios in Toronto. "We're cooking up something a little different," drummer Tyler Stewart tells Billboard. "I'm gonna have to say it's a bit of  a departure, in some respects, just sonically. It's just all a little bit different." And, Stewart adds, it's diverse.

"I would say it goes from atmospheric, instrumentally lush songs to pop music, like power-pop. And in the middle there's almost R&B ballad-type stuff. I don't think any of us really know what the album is yet. All we know is that we have a whole bunch of really interesting and diverse songs, and we hope it sticks together because we haven't necessarily found a unifying cord other than it's the four of us making the music."

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Multi-instrumentalist Kevin Hearn is apparently emerging as a major force on the as-yet-untitled project, writing six songs and teaming with Ed Robertson on another two. Robertson has written five others, and bassist Jim Creeggan has one in the mix as well. And when the album emerges, most likely this fall, it will feature some intriguing guests who dropped by the studio. "There's some interesting luminaries from the Canadian music scene and some Americans who showed up, too, and played on the record," Stewart acknowledges -- declining, of course, to name them.

The drummer says that BNL fans shouldn't worry about the album sounding unrecognizable from previous efforts, however. "The thing wtih the Ladies is we've always straddled so many genres or just incorporated them into either the live show or on record," he explains. "There's always been hints and little flavors of stuff here and there. But I feel like on this record maybe we're not afraid to NOT sound like Barenaked Ladies occasionally. There's no parameters, no 'We can't do that because it doesn't sound like Barenaked Ladies.' It's pretty exciting."

BNL's other album will be a live set for Record Store Day, recorded with veteran Brooklyn R&B a capella group The Persuasions. Hearn met the vocal troupe at a Lou Reed tribute, which led to a friendship and some joint shows by the two groups. They recorded together for a TV show last October, with Brown producing, and the audio will comprise the album.

"It's essentially a live-off-the-floor recording of 15 of our songs and one of theirs, that were arranged vocally by the Persuasions," Stewart says. "We didn't really rehearse very much; we took a day to get to know the songs and rehearse, and the result was this really joyful, incredibly melodic and fun recording. For me personally it was probably one of the top three musical experiences of my life. We couldn't be happier."

One thing BNL won't be doing this year is another Last Summer On Earth Tour, which in previous years has teamed the group with the likes of the Violent Femmes, Howard Jones, Colin Hay, OMD and others. The group will play some U.S. shows during the spring and summer, but plans to spend the bulk of its time in Canada, which is celebrating the 150th anniversary of its Confederation this year. BNL is also soft-peddling the 25th anniversary of its debut label album, Gordon.

"We're kind of two minds about it," Stewart says. "Obviously it's a milestone and it's a huge record in our career, our first real big splash on the scene and our fans have a big connection to Gordon. But there's also that Neil Young mentality that the minute you start looking back, it plants you firmly in the past. So, no, as of right now there's no sort of 25th anniversary tour of Gordon top to bottom or anything like that."

The drummer doesn't totally close the door on his band acknowledging their first LP's anniversary in some way, however: "I imagine in our own special way we'll nod towards it, subtly -- or not subtly -- over the course of the year."