It’s no secret that the Men Without Hats concert we saw in 2024 is still sticking with us over a year later. It was so vibrant and exciting that it took me from a Men Without Hats fan to possibly the next level. I now want everything I can get from the band beyond the first three albums and handful of singles I’ve had for ages. And this year they obliged me with two releases! I have the first one and we’ll review that album number two.

REVIEW: MEN WITHOUT HATS LIVE DL

Men Without Hats: Live – CAN – DL [2025]

1. Safety Dance (Single Version) 2:53
2. Moonbeam 3:50
3. Where Do The Boys Go? 4:37
4. Antarctica 3:18
5. I Like 4:19
6. Pop Goes The World 4:15
7. Safety Dance (Extended Version) 6:04

When I saw that the same year as the pulse-pounding MWH concert I thrilled to the band had recorded their live set for a live album, I was only thrown by the lack of a CD. The band made an LP that they sold at the merch table during their late ’24 Canadian tour and this was priced too richly for my blood at $40 [though it may have been 40 Canadian dollars…the Monk muses]. Even though we tend to prefer physical albums.

I then saw that it was on the band’s Bandcamp page as a CD-res DL for the borderline insane, low, low price of just $5 CAD! For the uninitiated, $5 Canadian dollars at today’s exchange rate equals a paltry $3.54 in US currency! I hit that “Buy” button like white on rice even as I bumped my purchase price to $8 CD…because!

The show in question seemed to have been the band’s March 8, 2024 show at the Grey Eagle Casino + Resort in Calgary, Alberta. Judging from the set list and Ivan Doroshuk’s lyrical ad libs in “Moonbeam.” The set consisted of the band’s patented “this band is amazing!!” half-hour blow-away set that starts out at fever pitch with a rousing “Safety Dance” right up front and never lets up until the end.

The conceit of playing your biggest hit first is such that blows up the energy levels of the band and audience from the very start and they have more than enough strong material to moderate and even best that energy as the set unfurls. Since I’ve already reviewed the show that maps closely to this release, we’ll get into the esoterica that this recording provides.

Firstly, the recording is as robust as the performances with plenty of crowed ambience in the mix for a “you are there” vibe. This is most emphatically not one of those live albums where the audience is politely mixed down between tracks. It manages to capture the thrills of the live performance this band gives most capably. That means that the Rock elements of Sho Murray on guitar and Adrian White on drums were maximized in the mix to evenly balance out the synthesizers of Sahara Sloan.

Ms. Sloan added her vocals to her uncle Ivan’s with each of them bringing power to the mic to match the energy of the music performance. I might add that all of this managed to make the original studio recordings sound rather polite and restrained in comparison! The one difference to this set list was that instead of “I Got The Message” being played as the fifth song, the band played “I Like” instead. I certainly enjoy “I Like” but on other shows in this tour, the band played possibly my favorite MWH song, “I Got The Message” instead. Part of me likes that I get to hear the other song their were playing on other gigs than the one I saw, but that same part would have preferred “I Got The Message.” Especially since it gave Ms. Sloan a great duet to sing with Ivan.

In the best of all possible worlds, perhaps both songs would have been included in the album, but that might have ruined one of the most endearing traits of this album. Which is its integrity. It is a full recording of a single Men Without Hats show in 2024, with the performance sounding either very continuous or the product of an expert mixing session to convince me of that.

So what we have here is a document of a point in time for Men Without Hats. And that time revealed them to be in extremely robust health! Anyone who already enjoys Men Without Hats are encouraged to buy and consume this album with gusto! The same gusto that the band themselves clearly bring to the effort! If you don’t yet enjoy Men Without Hats, then this recording is an ideal gateway drug! The DL is as stated up front, the price of a latte for $5 CAD, yet so much sweeter, so join us as the DJs hit that button!

WANT LIST: MEN WITHOUT HATS ON THE MOON

With a band this hot and happening it would make total sense for the group to nail it down in the studio with all due haste…and that’s exactly what has happened as the group came off of their summer 2024 tour with two sessions that comprise their new album of 2025, “Men Without Hats On The Moon.”

Men Without Hats: On The Moon – CAN – DL [2025]

1. I Love The ’80s 3:43
2. In Glorious Days 3:41
3. If You Try 3:27
4. Run Away 4:23
5. Love Me Tomorrow 4:20
6. À Cause De Toi 4:35
7. Jealous Guy 4:20

The first single from this was a huge winner with “I ♥ The 80s!” Which I immediately bought since I could not wait for a new single. But later came the second single, “In Glorious Days” and realizing that an album was afoot, I didn’t immediately buy the single. The album was released on the 14th of November as a DL and on streaming [the 99%] with the final percentile of the LP or CD to follow in March 16th of 2026.

As I’m Mister Delayed Gratification, I’ll wait until I have the silver disc in hand to hear anything more, but one may currently hear the entire album on streaming or even buy the DL album in CD resolution for $11.99 CAD [$8.49] from the group’s bandcamp store.

The CD of this title is in pre-order at $14.99 [US dollars] and the LP is only $24.99. If you can wait until next year you may want to get your order in. Physical copies of recent MWH releases are not exactly cheap in the aftermarket. And the domestic US shipping in low in cost, so that’s a huge plus. The band also have value added autograph options, bundles, and strategic T-shirts so the MWH fan with money burning a hole in their pockets have many options. DJ hit that button!

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