Search - Our Lady Peace :: Healthy in Paranoid Times

Not the same OLP. But hey, it's better than Gravity.

A. Schroeter | Southern California, USA | 09/22/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Over three years ago, Our Lady Peace put out an album that single-handedly shunned probably 85% of the band's long-time fanbase, while making fans of Avril Lavigne and Nickelback take notice of them because they sang about purple hair and being sorry. In other words, it was the end of Our Lady Peace's once twisted, carnival-like world as we knew it, and was replaced by a world full of derivation and triteness. But hey, the album went gold, so they really taught them, right?



Flash forward three years now. Surely everyone has had to come to grips that Our Lady Peace will never be Our Lady Peace ever again. Raine has given Avril fans further excuse to listen to the band, as he helped out on her last album behind the scenes. This new album has to suck. It just has to. But here's the kicker -- it doesn't... as long as you let go of the notion that the old OLP can ever return. But that can be a hard thing to do, so many are just going to jump the "OLP hater" bandwagon because the band isn't writing songs about big green monkeys or birdmen anymore.



So why exactly is this a good album? The songs are just stronger than "Gravity." Raine Maida's vocals in that album lacked any concern or conviction, and made most of it feel flat. Now the only thing that feels flat about Our Lady Peace's music these days is the terrible production, thanks again to "Gravity" producer, the Svengali-like Bob Rock. Really, someone needs to tell this man his style just isn't suited for rock music. He needs to start producing Britney or Hilary Duff, and leave the rock music to the professionals. Sorry, Bob, you're the biggest weakness on this disc. You ALMOST ruin the songs on the album. Luckly, Raine is feeling like a human being again, and Steve Mazur has turned into Mike Turner III (MT Jr. is probably still out there hiding somewhere, and big Mike is in a band that's putting out music worse than "Somewhere Out There").



In short, if you're a long-time Our Lady Peace fan, you're probably going to hate it at first... or forever. But please, look past the squeaky clean production and the sometimes overly-simplistic lyrics. Underneath all of that, there's a good album waiting to be heard by you, and waiting to show people who loved "Gravity" that they were in love with drivel all along."

This review is not intended to comment on the disc itself or

Benjamin Norman | Washington DC | 12/14/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"When you realize that a band like Our Lady Peace has been together for over a decade, it should make sense that they just will not sound the same. No band in existance has maintained the same sound album to album, and if they have, they didn't do very well. People like change, growth, maturity. They like different topics, they like seeing their fallen heroes rise again, they like seeing bad guys getting what's coming to them, and they like seeing those that once stood offstage finally take charge of their destiny and make themselves heard.



Throughout their career, Our Lady Peace has always fallen short of the explosion in the American market that so many Canadians get. They are HUGE in Canada, but not here. Many suppose that this was the reasoning for hiring Bob Rock as their producer and putting out the album Gravity (which is why a crucial member of their line-up left, that was the creative difference). Most OLP fans hate the album, but I can't share that sentiment. Regardless of their subject matter, regardless of how unique they are or aren't playing, I hear the same things coming from that group. Whether it be the musical dissonance that we've come to expect, or an interesting, dark twist on an old favorite...OLP has never failed to deliver to me songs that hit me in just the right way.



However, when I first picked up Healthy in Paranoid Times...I was REALLY disappointed. Had they gone too far? Was it possible that this was, in fact, their worst album? I wasn't ready to believe it, and I did actually find a few songs that I really really enjoyed. But overall, I just couldn't connect, you know? I felt left out, a place I've never felt with them before.



And then I went to see them perform at the 9:30 club in DC. It was very exciting for me, because the last performance of theirs I attended was on the date that Happiness was released. So yeah, it had been a while. They didn't perform my old favorites the way I remembered, and to be honest, I forgot some of the lyrics. But that didn't stop me from tearing up. I was connecting, I was rediscovering something I truly loved, and I was finding new material to love. They did some rather unexpected pieces from the new album. I didn't expect to enjoy "Boy" as much as I did. Nor did I think "Wipe That Smile Off Your Face" would be such a crowd favorite, but it was. The songs from their new album got the crowd really going, and you could see just who was a hardcore OLP fans from the ones who "remembered their glory days". They were the ones singing passionately to old *and* new songs alike.



So I took another listen. Maybe, just maybe, this was better than I thought. And yeah, it was.



First of all, "Angels/Losing/Sleep" may be the dumbest way to give us a song title, but the song itself is stunning. From the bayou twang of the opening guitar to the heavy bass falling in afterwards, to Raine's voice belting out some very odd lyrics, this song had me hooked. I'm glad I took the time to really listen to it, because this is an instant classic in my book.



"Where Are You", the first single off this album, is amazing. The lyrics are actually quite clever. "Tonight, did Punk Rock get it right, is there no future in sight? Is it different, now, is it different?" It's energetic, something which isn't a real OLP staple, but it's definitely something I can happily stomach.



"Wipe That Smile Off Your Face" is one of the angriest songs I've heard from them, and watching Raine shake on stage as he uttered those words into the microphone was chilling. He looked mortifyingly angry. It's such a wonderful song, I love listening to it when I am angry, it lets me vent.



Now Im not up on Raine's personal life, although I know he is married to Chantal Kreviazuk. If they had a child, I'd understand what he said at the concert about "Boy" being about one of those amazing unexpected moments in your life. I can't really be sure. But the song itself is heartfelt, and a pleasant listen.



"The World on a String" is another departure from style for them, but again, it works. It's fun to listen to, not too difficult to learn the lyrics, and nice to sing to. Definitely a good track.



"Don't Stop" is dirty dirty dirty! I never expected lyrics like this from them, but I don't mind! Good job, guys!



Those are the standout tracks, but the nice thing about music is that you form your own bond with your own selection of tracks. What I say here is simply my own personal experience. I do, however, highly recommend this to anyone (yes, even you), if to do nothing else than form your own bonds with the songs of your choice."