Sound Advice: CD Reviews - Our Lady Peace (Clumsy)

CD Review:
OLP's second release and the first I bought from this Toronto band. In the span between Naveed, their first album and this one they made the first of several line up changes over their history. This one was with the bass guitar, replacing original bassist Chris Eacrett with Duncan Coutts. This album still receives major airplay on hard rock stations in my neck of the woods with the two songs "Superman's Dead" and "Clumsy."

You could consider this a concept album. The concept of "not fitting in" is the theme of this album. "Automatic Flowers" takes on the theme with a girl who drinks too much. "Superman's Dead" and "Carnival" show why it's hard to fit in by describing a world that just isn't right. "Big Dumb Rocket" takes on screwed up relationships. "Shaking" takes on the theme directly with a guy on the edge, who is intellectually and spiritually trying to find out what is so wrong with him. "Car Crash" tells the story of a guy not being comfortable around friends and dies in an accident after getting out of the uncomfortable situation of a group gathering. "Clumsy" and "100 Aisles" displays the theme in two different ways; the first is acceptance by a friend, and the second, the temptation of pills to ease the pain and gain acceptance through the use of drugs. "Hello Oskar" describes the perfect example of a guy who just doesn't fit. And finally, the best track, and usually one of the reasons a person can feel outside of the world, "4 a.m.," a song about the hatred of a father by a son who comes to realize he really loves his dad.

The negatives and positives on this CD are like the two sides of the same sword. The voice of Raine Maida is exceptionally unique, I have never really heard his particular vocal sound, which is good, but it is not a good voice. The lyrics all put forth the theme that was mentioned in the previous paragraph, which is good, but except for a couple of the songs ("4 a.m." and "Clumsy") and a few great lines ("are you worried bout your faith, kneel down and obey, your happy your in love, you need someone to hate" and "he'll build a bridge and then walk around") the lyrics are quite ordinary. And the music is also turned towards something different as OLP has their own sound, which is good, but the music just doesn't sound all that great. So, all the reasons that I would enjoy this band are also the reasons why I don't.

Just as an aside, I wonder why, so often, that when a band has a release in the U.S. and Canada, the album covers change. And they usually change for the worse for the American release. A good example of what I'm saying is this CD. The Canadian release shows a man hanging from a swing high in the air from his teeth. The expression on his face shows deep anxiety as he knows he can't hold on with his teeth forever and will eventually fall to his death. This is the perfect metaphor for the theme of the album. But on the American release it shows four pictures one each of the band members from one of their live performances.

But I digress. Overall, this album, and the band in general, could be considered an acquired taste. Clumsy didn't make me anticipate their next release, or even hurry to purchase Naveed, but I can't totally disregard them. You may quite enjoy them like others who have rated this band highly, and I wouldn't fault you if you did. But I will wait until I see another album by them in a discount bin before I, personally, make my next purchase.

Scott D. Brown