Our Lady Peace's "Curve" Review
Another CD release for my favorite band north of the border. There are always going to be critics, but for a band who has altered its sound over the years, the critics usually come out full-force. Meaning this CD has gotten pretty average-to-bad reviews.
99.9% of bands have what the longtime fans call the "sellout album". If you are unfamiliar with the phrase, it means the album where the band more or less loses their beliefs and ideals to conform to a more radio-friendly a.k.a. more money making sound. For Our Lady Peace, this album would be Gravity. (The lead single Somewhere Out There climbed up the charts in '02)
OLP, especially pre-Gravity is the epitome of "alternative". Kind of weird, kind of cool, yet comforting. The best comparisons for the vocals would be Smashing Pumpkins (I guess?). So they had the nasally Corgan thing going on. Well, their old fans absolutely loved that. And guess what, that stopped at Gravity. You hear traces of it every once in a while, but it doesn't dominate their sound like years past.
The other big gripe is that the band became more rock-oriented (less alternative) and more "boring." Gravity is much more rock than the previous albums, no doubt about that one (listen here). However I personally don't find it boring or bad by any means. I will admit however that I am probably pretty biased since this is where I first caught wind of the band, (as did millions of other fans outside of Canada) and finding my all time favorite song. (See if you can locate it here.)
I do think however that the following two releases: Healthy in Paranoid Times and Burn Burn are probably their weakest two albums released. There is much less rock, and more channelling of their inner-U2 for some filler ballads (With a few big exceptions). Ironically, the special edition release of Burn Burn (cleverly titled Burn Burn Burn) adds two songs that were originally cut, that definitely should not have been so. They have a totally different vibe from the rest, and make the album much more unique and less "filler" sounding. These songs being The Right Stuff and Timebomb, go look them up.
So basically I said all that to get to this point. If you are expecting one school of thought on the band or another, it's not that simple. They basically said that before this one was released, that they were going back to their roots; which is not really a bold statement because they've said that the last three albums pre-release date. I'm sure it's just a way to get old fans to check it out. Again, it's not a lie, but not entirely the whole scenario either.
I've listened to the album quite a few times now. I hear various things going on all at once. I hear influences from different bands than they normally use. I hear new sounds, and dare I say new concepts? It feels a tad darker than most of their records. It's almost mournful- yet beautiful. The latter half of the album is pretty much amazing, so I guess you could say that the album builds and builds into a climax of pretty damn good music. And really what more could you ask for?
I was going to do a track-by-track review of the album, but I would rather people listen to it and judge for themselves. So in conclusion, I'm not going to do a "grade" or rank, but I will say that I hear Radiohead in there. I also hear Spiritual Machines. I hear songs with killer bass, and others with the most unique guitar playing they've had in quite a few years. I hear a Pink Floyd-esque intro, and one with the most drums they have probably ever used. I hear a piano ballad, and a song that literally made me sit up and listen as intently as I possibly could. Does that peak your interest?
go buy it...
99.9% of bands have what the longtime fans call the "sellout album". If you are unfamiliar with the phrase, it means the album where the band more or less loses their beliefs and ideals to conform to a more radio-friendly a.k.a. more money making sound. For Our Lady Peace, this album would be Gravity. (The lead single Somewhere Out There climbed up the charts in '02)
OLP, especially pre-Gravity is the epitome of "alternative". Kind of weird, kind of cool, yet comforting. The best comparisons for the vocals would be Smashing Pumpkins (I guess?). So they had the nasally Corgan thing going on. Well, their old fans absolutely loved that. And guess what, that stopped at Gravity. You hear traces of it every once in a while, but it doesn't dominate their sound like years past.
The other big gripe is that the band became more rock-oriented (less alternative) and more "boring." Gravity is much more rock than the previous albums, no doubt about that one (listen here). However I personally don't find it boring or bad by any means. I will admit however that I am probably pretty biased since this is where I first caught wind of the band, (as did millions of other fans outside of Canada) and finding my all time favorite song. (See if you can locate it here.)
I do think however that the following two releases: Healthy in Paranoid Times and Burn Burn are probably their weakest two albums released. There is much less rock, and more channelling of their inner-U2 for some filler ballads (With a few big exceptions). Ironically, the special edition release of Burn Burn (cleverly titled Burn Burn Burn) adds two songs that were originally cut, that definitely should not have been so. They have a totally different vibe from the rest, and make the album much more unique and less "filler" sounding. These songs being The Right Stuff and Timebomb, go look them up.
So basically I said all that to get to this point. If you are expecting one school of thought on the band or another, it's not that simple. They basically said that before this one was released, that they were going back to their roots; which is not really a bold statement because they've said that the last three albums pre-release date. I'm sure it's just a way to get old fans to check it out. Again, it's not a lie, but not entirely the whole scenario either.
I've listened to the album quite a few times now. I hear various things going on all at once. I hear influences from different bands than they normally use. I hear new sounds, and dare I say new concepts? It feels a tad darker than most of their records. It's almost mournful- yet beautiful. The latter half of the album is pretty much amazing, so I guess you could say that the album builds and builds into a climax of pretty damn good music. And really what more could you ask for?
I was going to do a track-by-track review of the album, but I would rather people listen to it and judge for themselves. So in conclusion, I'm not going to do a "grade" or rank, but I will say that I hear Radiohead in there. I also hear Spiritual Machines. I hear songs with killer bass, and others with the most unique guitar playing they've had in quite a few years. I hear a Pink Floyd-esque intro, and one with the most drums they have probably ever used. I hear a piano ballad, and a song that literally made me sit up and listen as intently as I possibly could. Does that peak your interest?
go buy it...
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