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| Current Line-Up: Coutts, Taggart, Mazur & Maida |
Criminally over looked, Our Lady Peace have been stalwart examples of exceptional Alt. Rock since 1992. With Post-Grunge, Art Rock & Acoustic leanings these Canadian rockers have cultivated an unmistakable sound throughout there string of 8 albums. In a career spanning 20 years, OLP have remained fresh & innovative whilst many have their contemporaries have faded or dulled.
Headed from inception by Raine Maida, OLP's most distinctive element is his voice, it is their calling card. His unmistakable howl grabs the listener instantly & makes quick work of polarizing them, most find it both moving & magical. Described as "erratic" & "truly unrivaled", Maida's nasal countertenor singing is punctured by soaring falsetto hooks that set him apart from every other singer in Rock, & indeed in all music.
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| Pre-2002 with Mike Turner |
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| Gravity & onwards, with Mazur |
Rounded out by bass player Duncan Coutts, bespectacled drummer Jeremy Taggart, & guitarist Mike Turner, OLP stormed through the 90's with the hard edged
Naveed, hooky
Clumsy & the tender
Happiness... Is Not a Fish That You Can Catch. At the turn of the century (& millennium) OLP delivered the ballad driven concept album
Spiritual Machines, which had short clips of dialog by inventor Raymond Kurtzweil (who was the inspiration for the album's concept) scattered between the songs. After this album's success founding guitarist Mike Turner left under still disputed circumstances & was replaced by Steve Mazur. In 2002, ten years after forming, the new line-up released
Gravity (my introduction to OLP), which marked the end of an era for the band. Aside from it being the 1st without Turner, Gravity marked the end of OLP's work with producer Arnold Lanni as well as their use of Saul Fox as the center of their album art. The changes on Gravity were not limited to personnel, it also marked a shift from the their murky, Grungey sound that featured Maida's striking falsetto & cryptic lyrics & layered production to a more mainstream sound that could be seen as a blend of harder & poppier modern Rock. In '05 after the softer
Healthy In Paranoid Times, the band went a 4 year hiatus, returning in '09 with their most lacklustre album;
Burn, Burn.
But just when it seemed Our Lady Peace might have finally grown stale, they have released
Curve. A more in depth review will be posted, regarding
Curve. Returning to their Alt. & Art Rock roots, albeit from a new angle, OLP prove once more that they have not lost it. Canada's greatest Alt band??? Yes, & maybe Canada's greatest band, period.
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| Healthy in Paranoid Times era |
Top 5 examples of Maida's Falsetto:
1.
Under Zenith (Naveed)
2.
One Man Army (Happiness...)
3.
Shaking (Clumsy)
4.
The Birdman (Naveed)
5.
Superman's Dead (Clumsy)
Top 5 OLP ballads:
1.
In Repair (Spiritual Machines)
2.
Al Genina (Healthy in Paranoid Times)
3.
Are You Sad? (Spiritual Machines)
4.
Bring Back the Sun (Gravity)
5.
Apology (Healthy in Paranoid Times)
