Amateur reviewer bashes Raine's falsetto & HINAF

johnpeterson · Post by **johnpeterson** » 2/27/2009, 12:35 am

http://www.raisethehammer.org/index.asp?id=827
From a review of Theset's new album "Neveroddoreven", amateur critic Ryan McGreal had this to say about Raine Maida's falsetto and OLP's music:

(OLP's) first album, Naveed, had hints of the nasal falsetto that would later become vocalist Raine Maida's signature style, but it served mainly as punctuation for an otherwise throaty, menacing delivery that matched the driving guitar riffs and thumping rhythms.

By Clumsy, the trademark whine began to overshadow the instrumentation. Clumsy outsold Naveed ten-to-one (not least because the mid-'90s were an excellent time to sound a lot like The Smashing Pumpkins), but it also marked the point at which Maida's falsetto jumped the shark.

On baroque follow-up Happiness... Is Not A Fish That YOu Can Catch, the falsetto had become a grating self-parody. Maida eventually abandoned it altogether.

So, a word of advice to Theset: restrain yourselves. A little shriek goes a long way, even when you're working double-time to convey the anguish of disaffected youth.

My god, I hope Raine never reads this.

nikki4982 · Post by **nikki4982** » 2/27/2009, 3:51 am

Hah, ouch.

Random Name · Post by **Random Name** » 2/27/2009, 7:28 am

"Bashes"? really?

Matt. · Post by **Matt.** » 2/27/2009, 9:02 am

Wait, so you're saying he's not allowed to express his opinion?

Dr. Hobo · Post by **Dr. Hobo** » 2/27/2009, 9:49 am

AnnieDreams · Post by **AnnieDreams** » 2/27/2009, 9:54 am

I love Falsetto

Dr. Hobo · Post by **Dr. Hobo** » 2/27/2009, 9:59 am

i do too

OLPManiac · Post by **OLPManiac** » 2/27/2009, 10:13 am

I want Raine's falsetto voice... :cry:

Random Name · Post by **Random Name** » 2/27/2009, 11:12 am

I don't get it. He isn't saying the falsetto sucks but that he wore it out, using it too much. He's saying falsetto moderation is important! Where's the bashing???

AnnieDreams · Post by **AnnieDreams** » 2/27/2009, 2:38 pm

I don't think that's what he's saying.
Overshadowing the instrumentation, jump the shark, self-parody, don't sound like phrases that would be used for a strained voice. Especially considering we've listened to those albums, and his voice doesn't sound at all strained.
I think he requested moderation for reasons of good taste, not for vocal health.

That's how I interpreted it, anyway. It's kinda ambiguous.

crustine · Post by **crustine** » 2/27/2009, 2:54 pm

my take "grating self-parody" is not such a compliment.

MindsOnLoan · Post by **MindsOnLoan** » 2/27/2009, 2:57 pm

I agree with Annie. This guy just seems to be against falsetto completely, and it seems he's trying to imply that Raine stopped because "he realized it was stupid" or something along those lines. However, that was one of OLP's trademarks. It was one of the many things that made them stand out compared to others. It didn't really outshadow the instruments either. Ask any old school OLP fan what a few of their favorite things are and you'll likely get the answers of Jeremy's drumming, Raine's falsetto, Mike's wicked guitar, and possibly the bass provided by either Chris or Duncan.

Also, I don't get the Pumpkins comparison. I understand that both Maida and Corgan have a nasally way of singing, but Corgan is nasally throughtout and is aggressive in doing so, Raine had a bit of nasally and it would stick out a bit more aggressively (not as much as Billy's though) at certain times. The nasal is a type of singing used by numerous musicians, not just OLP and The Smashing Pumpkins. Plus, Raine's falsetto is definitely something that sets the singing apart. As far as music goes, I haven't heard much similarity there either. Influence? Possibly. But not sounding alike.

Shanae · Post by **Shanae** » 2/27/2009, 4:31 pm

From the reviews I've read, quite a few critics don't like Raine's falsetto voice at all. I love it so much. It's so... Our Lady Peace.

Then again, I once read a review where the person spent half of their time ranting about Rob Thomas than actually talking about the record they were reviewing.

AnnieDreams · Post by **AnnieDreams** » 2/27/2009, 6:01 pm

I missed the falsetto so much when it was gone, man. I love it when anyone does it. Well, anyone who's good anyway. Doesn't matter if it's Raine or Thom York or Mika or even Michael Jackson.

I've really been noticing lately how much I'm vocally-focussed when listening to music. Like, I don't think I could tell you a damn thing about Chris/Duncan's bass playing, other than that it sounds good in the songs. I've got the singing memorized down to every intake of breath, but most of the time I barely even notice what's going on underneath. How 'bout that.

Johnny · Post by **Johnny** » 2/27/2009, 7:28 pm

If you like falsetto, check out Matthew Bellamy. :nod:

myownsatellite · Post by **myownsatellite** » 2/27/2009, 7:31 pm

...I don't get the reference to the Smashing Pumpkins. I never ever thought OLP sounded anything like them. I think this critic doesn't really know what he's talking about.

Heavy Alibi · Post by **Heavy Alibi** » 2/27/2009, 8:26 pm

Geez, I hate when these damn mainstream reviewers hate on anything that's not polished rock-crap like Nippleback. Raine's falsetto was one of the major qualities that made OLP significant and distinct from other bands out there.

myownsatellite · Post by **myownsatellite** » 2/27/2009, 8:31 pm

Eh he's a douche. Can't take it seriously.

MindsOnLoan · Post by **MindsOnLoan** » 2/27/2009, 8:31 pm

That's my problem with reviewers, especially amateur ones. I agree with a lot of the points critics make about certain things. Like if it's a review on a Nickelback album, I'll probably have a lot in common with whoever gets the unfortunate task of reviewing it. But other times it seems their personal tastes get in the way of objectivity. For me, there are tons of bands that I don't like, but I can still show respect towards them and realize that it is good music, yet it's just not my thing. A lot of reviewers hate anything that's not a specific way. The only time I can say I bash something or will openly mock/talk bad about is if it's genuinely terrible, generic music. And that can't be said about OLP... except for a few Gravity moments, but I'm not going to get into all of that.

Random Name · Post by **Random Name** » 2/27/2009, 8:35 pm

I don't get it. He isn't saying the falsetto sucks but that he wore it out, using it too much. He's saying falsetto moderation is important! Where's the bashing???

AnnieDreams wrote:I don't think that's what he's saying.
Overshadowing the instrumentation, jump the shark, self-parody, don't sound like phrases that would be used for a strained voice. Especially considering we've listened to those albums, and his voice doesn't sound at all strained.
I think he requested moderation for reasons of good taste, not for vocal health.

That's how I interpreted it, anyway. It's kinda ambiguous.

That's not what I meant at all. Not strained in the sense of his technical ability, obviously he sounds good on the albums. But rather that the band used that sound too much and the audience got sick of it. Too much of a good thing.
Like, I'm not sure I disagree with the guy. He says that in Naveed they did this original combination of sounds and the falsetto used was a highlight... but in clumsy it was the main vocal feature. Which I think is fairly accurate. Whether the sound was past it's prime, I don't think any one can say, but OLP's sound at the time certainly fell in line with rock radio at the time. And then he goes onto say that it's a grating self-parody by happiness, which is a bit harsh but also kind of true when you look at the big jump between musical styles and lyrical intention. I can absolutely see how one can look at the satire and cynicism and see a lot of self parody when you consider that happiness is the followup to a hugely successful album and they were thrown into the spotlight, thus leaving this response.