Why Can't We All Man Up?

Although most recently known for their song There Goes My Love on the new iPad commercial, this band has an array of catchy, well-written, simply good songs that should be more appreciated.

The Blue Van, a band hailing out of Denmark, taking its name from an actual blue van that used to pick up mentally ill patients, seems like it doesn’t have a very solid message to give the listener in the first place. With songs ranging from being homesick, to “man-ing” up, you can’t really pin it down with one theme. But, this could ultimately be a good thing because it allows for more creativity from the artists, without them being limited to writing about one thing.

While first listening to their album, I felt like I expected cute, bubbly lyrics, just from the fact that that theme is gaining popularity with bands like Vampire Weekend and its feature on the Apple commercial, which usually endorses those types of songs. But I was glad to find that there was nothing of that sort here. The people of this band kept their lyrics real and relatable, and most importantly grounded. Which is something quite refreshing.

The vocals that accompany each song seem a bit scratchy and raw, but smooth at the same time. It was almost like they just held back from completely screaming their heads off, which was much appreciated. I personally could not stand forty-four minutes of that.

This album also featured an abundance of guitar solos that aren’t heard nearly as much as they were in past decades. It is reminiscent of a past life having a bluesy- rock-and-roll feel in every song. With no ballads to speak of, every song carries an energy that pulsates long after the song has finished. These solos keep the band from dissolving into the background and being completely unnoticed.

Ultimately shying away from ballads and run-of-the-mill “I’m sad” songs, they express those ideas in different ways. In the song Lay Me Down and Die, they talk about being sad but relate it to death, coffins, and funerals. Although a little morbid, the imagery created allows the listener to actually feel the forlorn essence of this song. Others, such as Man Up and Silly Boy touch on the subject of masculinity, and the fact that people need to step up and embrace their tough exteriors with every fiber of their being, mind and all. While listening to this song, I always think about the opening scene from Reservoir Dogs, where everyone is walking out of the diner in a row looking tough, and unnerved about their future task of robbing a jewelry store.

There are no oxford commas, or Cape Cod kwassa kwassa’s to be found on this album.