The Singles Jukebox

It ain’t no “Ain’t No Other Man” lemme tell you that…

[Video][Website]
[3.44]

Alfred Soto: Ain’t no hootenanny either.
[3]

Natasha Genet Avery: “Ain’t No Man” feels like the world’s longest Chevy ad: the down-home stomps, claps, and bass line are not enough to sustain my attention or, more importantly, support the thin and pitchy vocals.
[3]

Iain Mew: Every time the arena stomp rhythm section pauses, it offers the brief hope that it might be gone for good. Every time, it plods right back in, exactly as limited as before. There ain’t no man can change the shape their lack of soul is in.
[2]

Hannah Jocelyn: I was going to leave this at “We Will ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ You”, but I must mention that awful, awful “they’ll say she is so pretty/he is so fine” part as well.
[2]

Edward Okulicz: Starts off well, okay half well, with a groove that’s half generic stadium shout and half Credence. Really. Too wordy to work as the latter though and my instinct once the chorus hits is to find this tent and burn it to the ground.
[3]

Ryo Miyauchi: The hand claps, the all-together-now chorus, the “can’t hold me down” sentiment — who commissioned this, and what kind of montage is this going to be used for? The worst, though, is their decision to wash out any and all personal stories in favor of a bland, one-size-fits-all struggle. “Not a whole lot of time for me or you/Got a lot of whole reasons to be mad, let’s not pick one,” they advise. No, let’s actually pick one for the sake of this reaching someone specific, not the imagined “us.”
[3]

Cassy Gress: “Ain’t No Man” was apparently, proudly, recorded in a single take to ensure that the true spirit of the song shone through. It certainly sounds like it, what with the song inexplicably using a synthesized clap sound rather than having all those other singers clap along. He’s proof of the truth we’re looking for, I guess? Truth with a capital T? I’m mostly reminded of the cool youth speakers who would come around and say things that were witty and culturally relevant and I’d think, “yeah, this guy gets it!” and then in comes the Jesus and “oh noooooo.”
[3]

Anthony Easton: Do you know that Facebook meme that’s going around about bands you feel ashamed of? I love this, and the earnestness makes me feel ashamed. Earnestness as a guilty pleasure is a kind of bête noire, but only because it makes me feel joy in that kind of Christian youth group way, which is not strictly pleasure. More stable than other pop kinds of pleasure, and more historical, it functions as a kind of side narrative to the mainstream.
[9]

Will Adams: That feeling when you’re at a small, quietly enjoyable college party, enjoying the relaxed conversation as you sip on a room temperature PBR, and someone pulls out a guitar and strikes up a singalong.
[3]