Playing through the ennui of superficial boy bands and lip-synching teen airheads, the Barenaked Ladies have again satisfied the musical palates of old fans and will probably lead new ones out of the pop darkness with the release of their fifth studio album, "Maroon." Those who remember 1998's "Stunt" and their 1997 breakthrough live album "Rock Spectacle" will find that "Maroon" is vintage Barenaked Ladies with catchy drum beats, humorous lyrics and dulcet harmonies.

The ubiquitous first single, "Pinch Me," follows in the same vein as "One Week," with an inane rap that echoes Snow's "Informer" but is more discernible. While the album retains their trademark humor with lines such as "Got a big chip, you want a fat lip? / How 'bout a mouth full of Chiclets?" in "Never Do Anything," many songs take on a somber tone that reverberates with darkness and isolation.

"Helicopters" and "Tonight is the Night I Fall Asleep at the Wheel" best represent this mood. The first is a personal account of a soldier getting off the battlefield and reflecting on the injustices he has witnessed. The latter is a graphic story an automobile disaster.

The duo has carved its niche into music as Canada's nerdy rock kings despite being dismissed by critics merely as manufacturers of droll wastes of air. In "Maroon," they decided to repress their joker sides and permit never before heard personas of passionate poets of life and love to step forward. Singers and songwriters Steven Page and Ed Robertson have strewn their songs with influences from the past. The Ladies emulate the Beatles in the harmonies of "Tonight is the Night I Fall Asleep at the Wheel." Hints of the Lovin Spoonful's "Do You Believe in Magic" can be heard in the jovial plea for the listener to return to a deserving lover in "Go Home." Later they create 80s electronic dance beats in the subtle harangue against relationship abuse, "Off The Hook."

In a nadir of music where a Swedish team of writers churns out radio-perfect fluff, the Barenaked Ladies have released an unabashedly beautiful album balancing optimism with despair and retaining their comical style. It is albums like this that restore one's hope in the power of true musicians and are a testament to what can result when the muse of actual talent and genius is channeled.

Filled with tight, solid beats, tinged with soft guitar notes and harder riffs, to go along with the multi-faceted lyrics and energetic singing, "Maroon" has energy and substance that makes the listener's ears tingle with the truth: in the end, Britney and the boy bands will fade to oblivion and true art will remain.