The Bare Naked Statues spent three years making their most recent album “All Expenses Paid” and it shows.
The group does an excellent job of adapting popular songs into a cappella pieces with beautiful harmonies. While these songs are being transferred into a cappella pieces, they still maintain the vibe of the original. The soloist voices often mimic certain qualities of the original artist.
BNS aspired to combat the criticism that they only play poppy 90s songs. They hoped to do so by creating an album with diverse genres and tempos.
This aspiration was realized with “All Expenses Paid”. The album features an eclectic arrangement songs ranging from Panic! At The Disco’s “I Write Sins Not Tragedies”, Flo Rida and Travis Barker’s “Low Remix”, and John Mayer’s “Comfortable.” While all of the song’s on the album are impressive, There a some that stand out more than others.
The group’s adaptation of Panic! At The Disco’s “I Write Sins Not Tragedies is one of these. The song starts off soft and slow but quickly becomes fast-paced and punchy. They draw the listener in with their slow harmonies and keep them listening once the song picks up.
Their cover of “Low Remix” by Flo Rida featuring Travis Barker is another great addition to the album. Although it is an a cappella version, this song is a great example of how the group maintains the rap-vibe of the original song.
“War on Sound” which features female a cappella group Beyond All Reason adds a different element to the album. In an album full of only male voices, the addition of female voices and higher pitches is a welcomed surprise.
Hands down, the best track on the album is their cover of John Mayer’s “Comfortable”. Soloist Mitchell Johnson soulful voice portrays the emotion of the song well. His voice coupled with Gregory Johnson’s smoothly flow over the background rhythms. This is one instance where the soloists voice mimics the original artists. Johnson’s voice has the same mellow, soulful qualities as Mayer’s voice.
“Save Kryptonite” is another great addition to the album. The group has mixed Eagle-Eye Cherry’s “Save Tonight” and 3 Doors Down’s Kryptonite to create an interesting track. They do an excellent job of making two very different songs flow together as though they were made to do so.
“All Expenses Paid” is a delightful album full of an array of catchy songs and beautiful harmonies. But, it would be hard to expect anything different from a group made up of men with such impressive vocal talents.
