A review of the CD: Healthy In Paranoid Times by Our Lady Peace
Genre: Modern Rock/Alternative
Review by: Jere
Shipwreck Island Studios

Quotes:

'Not as dark and moody as OLP's finest hour, Clumsy, but after a couple years of exhausting work Maida and crew have crafted an intense rock record... Strong songwriting mixed with sincere emotion makes this one of the best modern rock albums of the year...' - Jere

'OLP shows the world once again how truly inspirational their music is. Healthy In Paranoid Times is the masterpiece fans were looking for!' - Tony

Album Specs:

Track Listing:

1. Angels Losing Sleep
2. Will The Future Blame Us
3. Picture
4. Where Are You
5. Wipe That Smile Off Your Face
6. Love and Trust
7. Boy
8. Apology
9. The World On A String
10. Don't Stop
11. Walking In Circles
12. Al Genina (Leave A Light On)

Album produced by: Bob Rock.

Our Lady Peace is: Raine Maida - Vocals. Steve Mazur - Guitars. Duncan Coutts - Bass. Jeremy Taggart - Drums.

Track By Track Breakdown:

1. Angels Losing Sleep - Starts things off with an acoustic intro before transforming into a compelling mid-tempo rocker with the whole band in fine form. The main chorus is ingeniously crafted and although Maida sings "I'll Wait" over and over it does sound like it would become annoying but in all honesty this is what gives the song a more intense feel while at the same time gives listeners a piece of music with deeper meaning behind it. I think this is OLP getting back to basics touching base from past albums while at the same time exploring a bit more with that modern/mainstream sound and the final product is one of the finest tracks on the entire disc.

2. Will The Future Blame Us - The guys waste little time as right away Will The Future Blame Us begins with an intense outbreak of guitars and from the overall build up on this track really offers great songwriting and overall delivery but would make a strong single if released on mainstream radio. The emotion in Raine Maida's voice is just incredible on this track as he gives a very compelling performance and he doesn't let up in his delivery until the very end. For artists today its a daunting task to write songs that will leave a profound effect on people after listening to it but its obvious that Our Lady Peace has done their homework making sure they gave fans quality all around on this outing.

3. Picture - A haunting mid-tempo rocker with a perfect mixture of acoustic and electric guitars this reminds me of material off of the Clumsy album as its the darkest sounding song on Healthy thus far. Listening to the lyrics really tugs on the emotions but compared to the previous tracks Picture leaves a overwhelming impression and in particular its a very sad, yet not depressing, song that draws you in more as the album evolves with every track.

4. Where Are You - The first single released to mainstream radio is a combination of simple and catchy musicianship with some influences of punk mixed with hard rock. When I first heard this song I didn't really think it fit the band's sound as it just seems like it lacked depth and the power to make a lasting impression but as I continued to listen to Where Are You its simple hook got to me and with repeated listens you discover multiple layers like some intense guitar playing on the part of Steve Mazur and a prime example of that is the build up and pay off around the two minute 15 second mark. From the first note this track takes off and before you know it, its over so in a way it does feel like there is nothing really behind it but like I said with multiple listens you get a better feel for the song in general.

5. Wipe That Smile Off Your Face - If you thought that Picture was dark then by the time Wipe That Smile Off Your Face hits you will be left in awe. In the past few years with the release of Gravity in 2002 OLP has experimented considerably with their sound and one thing that they did was to go more mainstream tearing a rip between them and some of their fans. Truthfully when this CD is upbeat its upbeat but when its dark believe me its dark and I truly think that every fan of the group, old and new, will be blown away when they hear this song it delivers on so many aspects on one part again Raine delivers a mind-blowing performance with his vocals just being down right angry and combine that with Mazur's heavy guitar solo really adds to the intensity that the group is going for on this cut.

6. Love and Trust - Midway through the disc the band shows no signs of giving fans anything below standards as they have crafted another mid-tempo number however once the main chorus kicks in it becomes a bit more energetic. OLP manage to keep building this track up and you can hear how the band have matured through the years as their masterful storytelling through songwriting has never sounded better.

7. Boy - From the first few notes of this track it almost sounds like U2 but I don't think U2 could sound this good as they have never been a group to hold my interest for very long. Our Lady Peace on the other hand has once again delivered an uplifting piece of music and like before could very well be found on mainstream rock radio down the road. I do tend to think that Boy is the most out of place track on the album yet still sounds a lot like OLP after a couple spins.

8. Apology - For the most part Healthy has been an electric dominated album so its nice to hear the guys take a breather and relax a bit, while the electric presence is still intact here this song is a mid-tempo ballad. Without a doubt this is where Maida gives one of his best vocal performances on the entire album as he gives his vocal chords quite the work out hitting every note with ease and this meshes well with the beautiful melody that encompasses this Apology.

9. The World On A String - At first listen this doesn't quite fit the preceding songs featured on HIPT but Our Lady Peace has always remained a group that doesn't care if their songs are radio friendly or not and I think World On A String is a prime example the first play through. OLP go for a more funky power pop/rock vibe here with one of the catchiest main choruses throughout the whole album and while its not a standout I do tend to think that it only gets better if given time.

10. Don't Stop - With the album starting to come to an end the band seems to go out the same way they started things off as Don't Stop is an aggressive dark rocker that might of had a better fit at the beginning of the disc then again it seems to fit here well too as a track like this evens out the album out and in the long run helps make it a more powerful disc.

11. Walking In Circles - Follows in the footsteps of Where Are You with a bit of a punk rock influence even though it doesn't have quite as much high energy in its delivery. Again no signs of weakness as the group pulls out all the stops and put all their talent into this song, I have no clue how the guys were able to maintain such high quality on the whole album as in my opinion there is no filler material and with Walking In Circles OLP show why they remain significant in the rock genre.

12. Al Genina (Leave A Light On) - After 11 tracks of intense guitar driven rock the album ends with a short but sweet acoustic montage and although this slows things down considerably its not a let down in fact I think with the heavy nature of this record this final song assists in calming things down not to mention it also shows off Maida's influential voice once again.

The Rundown:

It has been a while since the world has seen a new studio album from Canadian modern rock outfit Our Lady Peace, a little over three years to be exact. Since the beginning of the new millennium Our Lady Peace has struggled to rediscover themselves after losing one of the key members behind the band's success as in 2001 guitarist and founding member: Mike Turner left for personal and creative differences. Steve Mazur auditioned and was chosen as the replacement for Turner and in June 2002 Gravity was released to mixed reactions and while OLP had one of the most successful hits of their career with the song: Somewhere Out There many fans accused the band of selling out and bowing down going more mainstream. Gravity was a definite departure from the past as the songs featured were more positive and upbeat then previous efforts. With the varied opinions on the band's direction many questioned Our Lady Peace wondering if the guys would be able to produce another high quality album again, in fact I think many thought that OLP were dead in the water without Mike Turner and the huge amount of talent he brought to the group.

Healthy In Paranoid Times is the rebirth of Our Lady Peace and its been a rebirth that has taken several years of excruciating/exhausting work to become a reality. At one point the band had broken up over this album so there were a lot of tense moments in making a record that would hopefully live up to what fans wanted it to be: a quality rock record from some of Canada's elite musicians. Recording this album under the stress and aggravation the band went through seems to have paid off as OLP has recorded an album that conveys all the emotions and gives listeners a whole array of thoughts and feelings to go through to help fully discover what this album offers.

+'s (Positives)

+ A strong guitar driven record - Steve Mazur has really come into his own since Gravity and he really does an amazing job on Healthy with some great solos spread throughout the entire disc. I tend to think the reason this album sounds so good is there is there more oomph to it compared to Gravity and that's largely attributed to Mazur as he has added a extra dimension with a wall of sound of guitars.

+ More quality less filler - Every song has something to offer and personally some songs didn't stick out as much as other they still have something to offer and that you'll discover after listening to the album a good four or five times before you finally get a feel for the entire vibe on this CD.

-'s (Negatives)

- Some will still be disappointed - There are some out there that still say that Our Lady Peace is/was Mike Turner and myself I do miss him in this group like I stated before he brought a huge amount of talent to the table but as one can see OLP has moved forward and continued to make music. Another thing is this record like Gravity before it has somewhat of a mainstream feel and that might turn people away but I think this time around the guys have taken elements from past albums like Happiness and Spiritual Machines and incorporated with the new direction their going and in my opinion it works perfectly here.

Overall:

Well it took a while but Our Lady Peace have finally returned and when I say that I just don't mean that they have returned to the music scene they have managed to take a fair amount of time to write and record a quality rock album that is worthy of the Our Lady Peace name. Looking back at what this band has gone through in the last five years losing a key member behind the success of a band like this was such a heavy blow and it has been a very hard task to get back on track and deliver compelling and inspiring material that a group like OLP has been known for. With the release of Gravity the guys were trying to go into a new direction and while there was some good material on that album it tended to jerk listeners around way too much and didn't really have a good structure behind it, I myself after the initial listen to Gravity was wondering what path OLP were heading down. I have no problems when a band tries a more mainstream sound as long as they remain true to themselves and overall remain true to their fan base but some of the songs featured were way to easy to get into and that is not saying that they were bad but when you want to get into an album usually it takes several listens to take in all of it and when there are tracks that were tailor made for mainstream radio that sounded good and were strong radio singles but in my opinion were missing a certain element to make them really poignant make you think OLP songs of the past.

With Healthy In Paranoid Times the whole album is smoother and each song builds on one another I mean once you hit play and the first five songs on the album really offer quite a show of pure musicianship. The middle of the album tends to slow things down a bit but this is where the emotion and heart comes full circle by the time the last three or four songs hit the band is once again giving a performance of a lifetime putting all their emotion into the music and by the time the final note on the last song ends you are just left in a state of shock as OLP have written structured well thought out tracks that have a real depth to them and stick with you the more you listen to this disc. Quite honestly there are no tracks like Somewhere Out There on HIPT and what I mean is there is no song on this release that right away is a mainstream hit single, the entire album is chalked full of potential singles yet I tend to think that they are not full blown mainstream and fit more of the old fashioned OLP sound that everyone knows and loves.

Our Lady Peace Healthy In Paranoid Times receives a 5/5 - This is not the OLP of the 90s they have evolved and after some changes they have firmly reestablished themselves with one of the best modern rock releases of the year well worth picking up. Its nice to see even in these paranoid times OLP still have the ability to deliver an album that gives fans something different while at the same time is very moving.

Favorite songs: Will The Future Blame Us, Angels Losing Sleep, Wipe That Smile Off Your Face, Picture, Love and Trust, and Where Are You.