New Album in 2012 - "Curve" April 3rd

[todddowney]

http://www.alternativeaddiction.com/new ... sp?id=1231

After four albums, you are what you are as far as bands go, and that holds true for Our Lady Peace too. They have one super-friendly radio album, (Gravity) and most of their die-hards tend to love everything released before that album and either tolerate or like everything that came after that. The reasoning? There are a number of things that are out of the band’s hands, but there is one main reason that the band is in full control of. Somewhere along the way they forgot why people listen to music. Not in the ‘I’m interested in what’s selling’ way but in the ‘we’re going to be different so let’s over-compensate’ way. People listen to songs for a number of reasons, they listen to sing along, they listen for an awesome guitar solo, they listen for a unique sound in the production that they’ve never heard before, they listen for lyrics and a message they can connect with, or it’s a combination of some or all of those things. Our Lady Peace hasn’t had an album filled with songs people could connect with like that since before Gravity>. While Curve doesn’t completely fit the criteria, there’s hope with a few great OLP songs being featured on this album.

Curve plays like something from the bands earlier days. There are a couple of catchy songs, some songs that are all over the place, and more emphasis on guitar work. As far as the guitar work goes, this might be the highest total of solos on any Our Lady Peace record. The cool thing about them is they aren’t common guitar solos. They’re almost schizophrenic from second to second and completely unpredictable. As far as album goes, this plays like a full record. There are highs and lows and everything meshes and fits together extremely well. The last four songs off of this ten song album, they play like a mini rock-opera as they ebb and flow perfectly into one another. That’s the good with Curve, it sounds like old-school OLP and it plays like an album.

The bad with Curve is a little easier to peg, there are only two or three true ‘keeper’ moments on this record when you look at the band’s body of work. “As Fast as You Can” is one of those great songs that I was talking about. It has a strong chorus that’s extremely catchy and if anything and it makes the rest of the song more interesting. It’s a tremendous song and it’s in my OLP top 10. Not counting “Heavyweight,” everything else fits well when you’re listening to this as an album. Outside of that…. Not so much.

Curve has a few strong moments and its fair share of perks. It’s not the band’s best work but it’s certainly not their worst. I’d love to tell you that this is Our Lady Peace at its best in 1998 again, but it’s not and times have changed enough to where that’s never going to repeated. As far as albums by this band go, it’s new and it’s decent. After fifteen years and a few disappointments, that’s better than what it could have been.

[RileyLewis]

Disregarding the actual content of that review, it's really poorly written.

[OLPManiac]

Raine told on Twitter that "a girl with a long snake moan" is Jazz...

Ryan MacLeod ‏ @RyanMacouver
"@MrRaineMaida Hey, what's a girl with a long snake moan? @Taggart7 sent me your way. #Raineburger #classicboatman"

raineanthonymaida ‏ @MrRaineMaida
"@RyanMacouver @taggart7 jazz baby!!! Used to make women crazy. Coltrane,monk,Parker ....."

Oh and there is the great artwork of the single!
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid ... 237&type=1

[Tinman]

Hey trusty, any update on those b-side tracks?

[siberiandreamer]

Can't stop spinning the album which is a really good sign! I think those internet reviews are very immature and completely unfair when they constantly compare to SM to the extent of even criticising the artwork for not being similar!
Also the second guessing of what the fans want is pathetic when most fans wanted this... different, serious, atmospheric and yet still unmistakably OLP. Bring on the UK show!

[Furious George]

Can't stop spinning the album which is a really good sign! I think those internet reviews are very immature and completely unfair when they constantly compare to SM to the extent of even criticising the artwork for not being similar!
Also the second guessing of what the fans want is pathetic when most fans wanted this... different, serious, atmospheric and yet still unmistakably OLP. Bring on the UK show!

No kidding its been a little over a month and I'm still not sick of it. Recently listened to some Burn Burn tracks.. seems amateurish in comparison.

[senseofurgency]

i found this very short but positive review of curve,

Canadian Our Lady Peace is back now with their eighth album since their debut Naveed in 1994. This is a reliable band that always delivers, sometimes a little more, sometimes a little less. The highlight for me is Spiritual Machines in 2000 where they found the perfect balance of great songs and a unique style. However Clumsy (1997), Happiness ... Is Not a Fish That You Can Catch (1999) and last Burn Burn (2009) are also great albums which any fan of Modern Rock should have.
Since the last album they're no longer on Columbia and it feels actually as a good alternative for them. Do unfortunately thinks that both Gravity (2002) and Healthy In Paranoid Times (2005) was quite boring albums where they became too commercial and impersonal. So that they become independent was to me as a perfect decision as they now have more freedom and probably will make more money in the end.
This new album "Curve” is once again a very solid effort and should be counted as one of the band's best. Stylistically, it is perhaps their quietest album to date, but there are a lot of emotion and sadness that make it very personal. The quiet and mysterious "Will Someday Change", "Mettle" and "Window Seat" is truly amazing where I think the guys are actually at their best. It is non-commercial and somewhat progressive, but still direct and accessible.
How it will sell is hard to say when there are no clear hits here. But as the album it is very good and should please all fans of this alternative and exciting band from North America.

http://www.melodic.net/?page=review&id=10789

[xjsb125]

I'm guessing English is not the reviewer's primary language.

[Tinman]

Went into my local st. louis best buy for a screen protector and saw that they were selling curve. They only had 2 copies left in stock. I was really glad that it looked like they had been selling well compared with the other new releases that surrounded them (i assumed that they had ordered more than 2 copies to start with).

[DG]

I bought Curve again at Best Buy because it was a "regular CD case unlike the one I preordered. I'm weird like that. But it was the last one, hopefully they sold a few here that means.

[faninor]

Huh, I saw one on eBay in the regular case and thought it was counterfeit or something, but I guess not!

[auolp]

I was told that the US distribution was hard plastic and the Canadian distribution was the soft cover. I think everyone who pre-ordered through Rhino, etc. was shipped the soft cover.

[Flynner]

I wish I got a plastic album, I hate the cardboards ones they always fit like shit in my cd holder

[Waiting to Exist]

Shoot, I didn't even know there was a cardboard version. Yeah, the one at my record store is plastic.

[Flynner]

Trusty any chance of some songs that didn't make curve to be released??? I really wanna hear grocery list, i hear you calling, and Moth

[Furious George]

Finally got a chance to hear all this "Grocery List" business... holy shit, this song is Sex! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NCC1KldX-VQ)
I love Curve, but I'm starting to think OLP has a knack for cutting out excellent excellent songs.. First Right Stuff now this.. Could totally have seen this as a single...

[Trustworthy]

yeah Eone, the US label, put Curve in a regular jewel case, also if you look closely you will see that the texture in the word "lady" is missing Not too sure what happened with that, but I am a fan of the digipack more than the regular plastic jewel case for sure.

[Tattooed Angels]

Not for nothing but the cardboard covers are more environment friendly then the plastic covers. Curious on what difference does it really make anyway? Unless you are one who abuses the covers alot..MOst people I know keep their cd's in excellent condition..

[ivewaited]

Finally got a chance to hear all this "Grocery List" business... holy shit, this song is Sex! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NCC1KldX-VQ)
I love Curve, but I'm starting to think OLP has a knack for cutting out excellent excellent songs.. First Right Stuff now this.. Could totally have seen this as a single...

YES... This was screaming to be a single and one of the best songs OLP has ever released IMO..

B-sides anytime soon??

[Maine Raida]

Finally got a chance to hear all this "Grocery List" business... holy shit, this song is Sex! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NCC1KldX-VQ)
I love Curve, but I'm starting to think OLP has a knack for cutting out excellent excellent songs.. First Right Stuff now this.. Could totally have seen this as a single...

YES... This was screaming to be a single and one of the best songs OLP has ever released IMO..

B-sides anytime soon??

I don't think that this song would have been a successful single, nor a single at all, really. Based on what we can hear, it had good verses, but the chorus wasn't impactful enough. It would have needed a lot more in that department.