Our Lady Peace Burn Burn Review
Frontman Raine Maida And The Rest Of OLP Rock On New 2009 Album.
Sep 22, 2009
Having to wait four years since Our Lady Peace's last offering, Healthy in Paranoid Times, fans were anxiously awaiting Burn Burn. Many were also wondering if the band was going to change it's style again, or return to its rocking roots on its debut album, Naveed.
Really, it is a mixture of both.
Our Lady Peace Record Burn Burn From Maida's Home Studio
Bob Rock was the producer for OLP's last two albums, but there is no producer on the newest album. The band wanted to have full creative control on Burn Burn and their creativity shows on some of the songs.
"Monkey Brains," "Escape Artist," and "Paper Moon" are a testament to their new found freedom. These songs not only rock out, but are spacy, lyrically deep and fresh for the band of 15 years. "Monkey Brains" especially feels like a blast from the past from the band: Think "Superman's Dead" meets "Starseed" and "Neon Crossing."
"All You Did Was Save My Life" The First Single
The first single off the album, and first track on the album definitely has a modern OLP feel. It will do a good job of attracting people to the album, but oddly enough it is unique in that the rest of the album has a different feel. "Dreamland," track two on the album is classic OLP, except that guitarist Steve Mazur has brought a live feel into the studio.
Steve Mazur Is Let Loose On Burn Burn
"Dreamland," "Paper Moon," and "Escape Artist" really prove that Mazur has some talent. If OLP could have one criticism since guitarist Mike Turner left at the turn of the decade, it's that they haven't let loose on their studio albums. Especially since they are well known for their brilliant live acts that are jam-packed with energy. On Burn Burn, however, they really let loose.
Analyzing Burn Burn's lyrics
This could very well be OLP's darkest record to date. While some songs sing of hope "All You Did Was Save My Life," and "Refuge", the songs together create a character who is desperate, if not suicidal. Take for instance, some of these lyrics:
Never Get Over You: "If you walk out that door, I just don't know what I'll do, I'll never get over you."
Escape Artist: "You're the ghost, empty are these hands ... there's no turning back"
Signs of Life: "There's no signs of life in here at all."
Paper Moon: "I was thinking that if you know a way out, then I'd like to go with you, and we can burn out like candles under that paper moon."
Escape is the main motif in the album that includes some of the best lyrics since Spiritual Machines or "Bring Back The Sun" off Gravity.
Final Thoughts On Burn Burn
No Our Lady Peace album may ever match the brilliance of Spiritual Machines, or Happiness Is Not a Fish That You Can Catch, but Burn Burn sure does come close. Every track on here is solid, but at only 38 minutes, it is on the short side.
On the bright side, it is a wonderful 38 minutes for the listener to escape under that paper moon.
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