Is Brawny hiring?
[Video][Website]
[6.43]
Juana Giaimo: The charm of “Mountain Man” lies in its unseriousness. The question “Ain’t this romantic?” can’t be serious when his plan is to “grow you a big ol’ bushy beard” and his preparation was to be a beaver scout. That’s why the lighthearted melody and the playful banjo suit the lyrics well, and everything together can lead us to think if he’s maybe even making fun of the masculine stereotype.
[7]
Anthony Easton: The video shows that this is intended as ironic, and it could do with the woman in question talking back to Brody’s mocking — but think of it as a meta-text in Canadian self-mocking, and things add up to a certain joy. Extra point for how enjoyably smooth Brody’s voice is, and another for bragging about how to cook bannock — a skill every Albertan youth learns during scout camp or in their grade five unit on Metis culture.
[8]
Brad Shoup: All those declaratives without anything to back ’em up beyond “I used to be a Beaver Scout” — this is comic country, right? The first time Brody sings “I’m a mountain main,” the guitar plunges into a mood. You start to think he’s more into growing that beard. The hammerclaw’s made of fiberglass, but the mindset’s fleshed out enough to compel. Plus, who’s singing about bannock?!
[7]
Alfred Soto: “We can pick berries in the moonlight/I know which ones to eat” ho ho. Amiable and uncreepy, helped by banjo riffage and Brody’s commitment to acting the part of a politician eating fried racoon for the sake of a few votes.
[6]
Jonathan Bogart: What exists in the space between Mumford and bro-country? Why in God’s name do we have to find out?
[4]
Will Adams: I’d like to live in a world where “girl/squirrel” is a far more common rhyme than “girl/world.”
[6]
David Sheffieck: It isn’t a surprise that the novelty song still exists in 2014, yet every time I encounter one I’m unaccountably happy: in our era of precision-targeted music, how can something so goofy survive? This is structured like a joke, or series of them if you want to be generous, and while the punchline wears out its welcome by the end, the level of commitment to the bit that Brody displays is winning nonetheless.
[7]