Our Lady Peace-Gravity
Z-104.5
Tulsa, OK

Produced by radio-friendly hard rock uber producer Bob Rock in his Hawaiian studio, Gravity lacks the experimental bent of Our Lady Peace's last effort, Spiritual Machines, which marked an almost prog rock departure for the Canadian band.
While some of that aesthetic shows up here -- the lofty, brooding opener, "All for You," sees burbling guitars battling ponderous bass strokes, for example -- Gravity is ultimately more straightforward, with an earnest (and surprisingly, devotedly emo) modern rock feel.

Five albums on from their mid-'90s debut, OLP are supremely competent at lacing emotional discomfort with musical hooks: Gravity wraps vulnerability in churning, polished power chords, and soul-worn testimony in pummeling riffs, with singer Raine Maida's voice an effective emotional centerpiece.

Gravity is divided between bristling modern rockers ("Do You Like It") and contemplative ballads like first single "Somewhere Out There" (which decidedly isn't the Linda Ronstadt ballad), or the standout, gentle "Bring Back the Sun," which sets Maida's wavering voice against both a string section and a background of jangly guitars