Our Lady Peace
Gravity (Columbia / Sony)
July 18, 2002
By Ellen Chiu

There was a time when I would have loved wholeheartedly anything put out by Our Lady Peace. That was when I was seventeen. Suffice to say that my musical taste has evolved since then - generally, it has evolved away from the direction towards which the band seems to have gravitated. With Gravity, the band's fifth album to date, OLP has tried to take a simpler, more aggressive approach, sans guitarist, Mike Turner and old producer, Arnold Lanni. Enlisting the help of producer Bob Rock (Metallica) and mixer Randy Staub (POD, Nickleback), the result is a sound that is somewhat predictable and suited perfectly for radio play. Indeed, OLP's latest effort is the most mainstream record that the Toronto rockers have produced, particularly after 2000's more mellow and experimental Spiritual Machines. 'Somewhere Out There,' the first single, is a polished rock ballad with strings. Unfortunately, it offers juvenile lyrics that would appeal only to hormonal teenagers: "I miss your purple hair / I miss the way you taste / I know you'll come back someday / On a bed of nails I wait." Isn't that last line a Bon Jovi song? Songs like 'Innocent,' 'Made of Steel,' and the aforementioned single are well-made, but in that big-sounding, over-produced, Nickleback way. In fact, the best songs on Gravity, the songs that redeem it from mainstream American top 40 hell are the ones that actually sound raw, the ones that actually sound more aggressive. 'Do You Like It' and the rhythmically-charged 'All For You' are mixed with mid-tempo songs like 'Not Enough' and 'Sell My Soul.' However, the standouts are the more subtle and stripped-down 'Bring Back The Sun' and 'A Story About A Girl.' Moreover, judging by the reference to Christianity in nearly every track and the cross that Maida sports on the album's cover, more than the band's sound has evolved. So while I don't love their latest release with the same seventeen-year-old adolescent urgency, Gravity does offer solid, reliably catchy radio-friendly rock anthems.