Our Lady Peace - "Somethingness" Album • Page 2

Well technically you can't go wrong with any of the first five albums lol

Clumsy was my intro to them in 1997 and I got Naveed shortly after, which were their only two albums at the time.

 

If I had to rank the first 8 albums (need more time to fully gauge the new one)

1. Happiness... Is Not A Fish You Can Catch
2. Naveed
3. Spiritual Machines
4. Gravity
5. Clumsy
6. Curve
7. Burn Burn
8. Healthy In Paranoid Times

1-5 is very close, and 7 and 8 are a bit of a distance from 6.

 

Healthy in Paranoid Times is my favorite OLP album, which I'm sure is an unpopular opinion. I got into the band with Gravity though so I'm not as familiar with their earlier output. Everyone seems to think that's their best stuff, so I should probably fix that.

 

Raine himself pretty much hates HIPT haha, and they almost broke up multiple times during the recording of it.

They recorded like 45 songs for that album and from what I've read they were only 100% satisfied with like 3 of them, and it took them forever to find 8 or 9 that could even live up to those 3 to round out the album.

Their bassist Duncan said there is a batch of songs they recorded in Malibu during the sessions for that album that are much darker than anything they've ever recorded, but were deleted and will never see the light of day. I would love to hear those, to be honest.

 

Raine said with that album "(the) record was total excess, total bullshit in the sense of, we finally had succumbed to a label: making us record that many songs, trying to find the right singles for American radio and MTV."

To me, as a fan since Clumsy, I can totally hear all of that with that album. There's only a handful of tracks that I really fully enjoy. (Angels/Losing/Sleep, Will the Future Blame Us, Boy, The World On A String, and Don't Stop). The rest I only really listen to if I ever feel like listening to the album in full or if they pop on shuffle.

Even the first single from the album "Where Are You" sounds like it was picked by the label as a cash grab for American radio.

 

I can see the truth in that, but I enjoy a lot of those songs. The ones you mentioned plus Picture and Apology are really solid imo. Agree that Where Are You is one of the weaker songs. I think I'm just a fan of pop-leaning rock and Gravity and HIPT are probably OLP at their poppiest.

 

I Love Gravity. I dig most of Burn Burn as well.

The 2014 standalone single Won't Turn Back and some of the new album Somethingness are fairly poppy as well, especially Won't Turn Back. I really dig "Nice To Meet You" off of Somethingness, in particular.

 

I need to listen to the full album, but "Drop Me in the Water" from Part 1 is excellent.

 

Drop Me In The Water as well as Heavyweight off of Curve are the closest they've gotten to their early material in a long time.

 

I forgot how much I love A/L/S also Don't Stop is criminally underrated

 

A/L/S is still one of their best post-Mike Turner era songs.

 

Burn Burn is pretty underrated to me. It is probably my 3rd or 4th favorite behind Happiness, Spiritual Machines and maybe Clumsy.

What do you all think of Raine's solo stuff? I loved The Hunter's Lullaby.

 

Pretty good. I love Yellow Brick Road.

His work with Imposter(s) is good too.

 

Our Lady Peace: Somethingness (2018) Coalition Records

Little did he know that I was going to review it!

I am so glad I did because this album is amazing. It really isn't a "return to form" of their earlier material but more of a new found sound that fits perfectly in todays music scene.

This is their first full length since 2012's Curve. The last couple of records by the band saw them losing a bit of steam and popularity. The thing I have loved about the band is that they are not one to stand still and change it up with every record. This can be a blessing and a curse in that you may alienate a lot of your fans. With the failed success of Curve and the previous album Burn Burn, the band took time off to really discover who they were and even did a run called the "Recreation Tour" playing all the songs off of Clumsy and Spiritual Machines (my favorite and by far their biggest venture into progressive rock.) During this time, they lost longtime drummer Jeremy Taggert and replaced him with Jason Pierce, ex-touring drummer for Paramore. Somethingness is the first album to feature Pierce recording an album with the band.

With time off and the new addition, it was time for the band to write a new album and they did not disappoint. This album sees them stripping down all the production of albums like Gravity and all the experimentation of albums like Spiritual Machines and doing what they do best, making amazing music. It is a mix of indie with some shimmery/jangly guitars but really sits in the folk rock/country realm. I would even go so far as to say it might be something @Craig Manning might enjoy. Raine Maida's vocals still remain unique, mixing his tenor and nasally falsetto, while the band just dances around him and it is incredible. It feels so comfortable and warming, and with the weather getting warmer, it is the perfect time release this album.

The album opens with, in my opinion, one of the best songs they have even written and really showcases this new found sound. The overall theme of the album lyrically is very uplifting and at times even has some religious undertones, but never feels forced or preachy.

"Head down, wait for tomorrow,
Dark days soon will be over,
I'll fine my place in the sun..."

Ballad of a Poet is the fist track where we really get see this stripped down folky version of the band and Raine does an incredible job of storytelling. I also love the backup singers on this song that give it so much more power.

"Tonight we radiate,
The lines have been replaced..."

This folky sound pretty much continues throughout the rest of the record, adding some piano and other instruments but the real gem on the record is track, Drop Me in the Water. It builds and builds and then turns into this 70's rock song and is something I would NEVER have expected from Our Lady Peace. At the 2:30 minute mark, lead guitarist Steve Mazur, lets out this fuzzed out guitar solo that just blows your mind and the last 30 seconds or so sees them just jamming out. You can tell the band had a blast recording it.

My only complaint of the record is the length, being only 33 minutes long, but at the same time there is no filler and every second is packed with amazing music.

10/10

Favorite Songs:
Head Down
Ballad of a Poet
Drop In the Water

 

Haven't heard Imposter(s), I will check it out.

 

They're an "anonymous" duo, their anonymity being part of their indentity and their namesake, but that voice is unmistakable and he is one of the two credited songwriters according to allmusic. Forgot off the top of my head who the other guy is.

 

They released two 3-track EPs titled First and Second, and there is evidence that a Third was in the works, but it hasn't been released.

And the left sillouhette is almost clearly him. He wears that style hat a lot.

 

The other guy is Robert Aaron Ellingson of Young Empires

 

@beachdude42 curious to know what you think when you get around to checking them out!

Hard to believe I've been listening to this band since they only had two albums and they have nine now haha.