Our Lady Peace

First time I ever heard of Our Lady Peace was when they opened for Van Halen in 1995 or 1996. I was 12 years old, and it was the first rock concert that I went to that wasn't the Beach Boys. I was just starting to discover music at that point, so I didn't know much - but I did know that I liked Our Lady Peace that day. For one they were Canadian, second they were loud, and third they seemed cool (people in GA were moshing to them)... My priorities were skewed back then, but their first album 'Naveed' (which was purchased shortly after the concert) is still a favorite of mine today.

    They sounded so familiar, yet still distinct. While they were obviously influenced by the grunge scene, they also had a melodic classic rock feel. For a debut album, Naveed is filled with tight, technical songs that manage to be both aggressive and catchy. The most distinctive thing you'll notice is Raine Maida's distinctive falsetto vocals - from the opening track 'Birdman', its clear that they are something special. I find that on typical filler tracks (that every band has) the vocals just raise the quality of the song to make em better. As they should, but there is just a unique quality in his voice.

The Birdman


Starseed


Naveed



   The releases following 'Naveed' have all been decent, but I feel very different from their debut. They just seemed to have a hunger on this album, the energy is just phenomenal - I just don't think that was ever re-created on subsequent albums. Instead they embraced the new direction of alternative music in the late 90's with a much more melodic, dare I say 'safe' album in 'Clumsy'. A good album with some of their biggest songs, which cemented them as one of the top rock bands in Canada. Below are some of the highlights from those albums.