Haha, John, I'm nearly in the same boat as you, in terms of this being my first post, AND somewhat the same way I got exposed to OLP (first band I remember listening to when I immigrated to Canada at like 2000, I was only 6-7 at the time when I heard of In Repair and Life, two of my favs). Surprisingly, that album didn't get me "hooked" to invest in them... it was
Where Are You and I still stand by it as my favourite song from OLP, from what I think is a "good" album for what HIPT was worth!
But anyways...
1.
Clumsy (too good of an album with just nearly every song being absolutely amazing, even though there were some blemishes like Shaking and Hello Oskar (not as much).
2.
Curve (
explanation below).
3.
Spiritual Machines (sentimental album to me, and solid songs all around, especially "In Repair" and "If You Believe", my favs)
4.
Burn Burn (first bought album, solid 10 or 12 song album of Canadiana, and such a good "road trip album" for me
)
5.
Happiness... Is Not A Fish That You Can Catch (amazing album that would be #3-4, but it just doesn't stand out enough to be something special to me haha)
6.
Healthy In Paranoid Times ("Where Are You" is my all time fav, and it's a good album if you don't measure it as a typical OLP album. It's daring, and although part of it feels soul-less and forced, there are still a lot of good tracks here damnit!)
7.
Naveed (great album for it's time, and I love the raw energy. While I love the singles / Denied & Under Zenith, the rest are unforgettable to me. Also not OLP's most creative, though there are very cryptic lyrics and themes here)
8.
Gravity (although I like every song except All For You / Not Enough (shush) / Sell My Soul, doesn't make it a good album to OLP's standards. I personally think post-grunge radio rock is the lamest shit, so it's basically a guilty pleasure for every listen I give to Gravity)
As for
Curve: YES, I think it's even BETTER than SM, and was a few extra good song ideas away from without a doubt surpassing Clumsy. I think it's also safe to say that at this point, Mazur >> Turner, it just took him a while to fluorish into the amazing guitarist that he is. If this album is an indication, I have solid hopes that album #9 can do that, especially after hearing so many good ideas from their #OLP8 sessions scrapped.
Can't rate them all from 1-10, and it's my first post, so whatever
out of 5:
1. Allowance - 4.5 (nice and upbeat; love Duncan's bass and the intro)
2. Fire In The Henhouse - 4.25 (If it stayed as The Wolf, a 5).
3. Heavyweight - 5 (classic)
4. Window Seat - 4.5 (a bit slow, but a great song when in the right mindset)
5. As Fast As You Can - 5 (though I'd rather have something else as single #2-3, still a great choice; like what HIPT should've been)
6. If This Is It - 5 (loved the demo, love this even more. Epic solo by Steve!)
7. Will Someday Change - 4 (nice change of pace, but too much like Raine's solo stuff to be "OLP")
8. Find Our Way - 5 (love Taggart's beat... and this is probably where Steve surpasses Mike.
THE BEST OLP SOLO TO DATE, bar none.
9. Rabbits - 5 (love the vibe in the verses / outro, and the chorus? pure catharsis)
10. Mettle - 3 (boring, but nevertheless a good way to sum up Curve, and the Chuvalo theme)
OVERALL: 4.5