After more than three decades as the lead singer and guitarist for Barenaked Ladies, Ed Robertson has a routine when it comes time to start writing songs for a new album. “I tend to get ideas while I’m driving up to my lake house,” he says. “I record voice memos along the way, and then I mix and match the various ideas I’ve come up with. On a typical drive, I’m happy if I get six or seven—eight ideas would be a good drive. For this album,” he continues, “on my first writing trip I had 21 different song ideas. I sat down to write, and I thought if I could finish one of them—get the verses, get the bridge, get the chorus in one day—then I’ll know this whole writing period is going to be good. And I finished eight songs. I sat down at 10 in the morning, and I looked up at 9:30 and I hadn’t eaten, I hadn’t moved from the writing table. It was exciting. I’ve never felt that before.”

Produced by Grammy and Juno-award winning producer Eric Ratz and recorded at Noble Street Studios in Toronto, Barenaked Ladies’ upcoming new album In Flight marks a new chapter for the band. Maybe it’s just the passage of time, maybe the joy of getting back on the road after the COVID lockdown, but Ed Robertson has noticed a change in his own attitude which adjusted his tone on the new project. While BNL’s last album, 2021’s Detour de Force, looked closely at the perils of contemporary, alternate reality media, In Flight offers a sense of joy and appreciation for life.

In addition to the eight songs written/co-written by Ed Robertson, the album features four songs from Kevin Hearn, (two of which are love letters to Toronto: “See the Tower” and “The Peace Lady”) and two from Jim Creeggan, (“Just Wait” and “Wake Up”). The album also features co-writers such as Kevin Griffin (Better Than Ezra), who co-wrote “One Night” and “Lovin’ Life” (the latter with Thirty Seconds to Mars’ Steve Aiello), as well as notable Canadian musicians Max Kerman (Arkells) and Donovan Woods.

Ed Robertson says, “We’re a band that has committed to being who we are and what we are, and being as good as we can be—doing the best shows we can do, writing the best songs we can write—and we’ve done it for 35 years. I’m super proud of that.”

Over the course of 35 years, Barenaked Ladies have sold more than 15 million albums, earned Grammy nominations and won multiple Juno Awards, and in 2018, were inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame. Widely acknowledged as one of the best live acts on the planet, the band has hosted a cruise, had its own ice cream flavor, and has built up an arsenal of hits such as “If I Had $1,000,000,” “One Week,” “Pinch Me,” and “The Big Bang Theory Theme.” They’ve become an institution with a passionately dedicated audience and a constant flow of new fans.