Burn, Baby, Burn

SteveK on OLP

Our Lady Peace: Burn Burn

Last week I had the distinct pleasure of being invited to a private Our Lady Peace show at the Petit Campus, here in Montreal.  It was an intimate setting, only a couple hundred fans and friends in a small venue, no opening act, just one set by OLP.

The purpose of the show was, of course, to debut some of the songs from this week’s new release, ‘Burn Burn’.

While they only did a few songs from the new album, regaling the eager audience with classic material during their show, it was clear from what we heard of ‘Burn Burn’ that OLP were back in fine form.  As soon as I could, I got access to ‘the new release to hear if the whole album was as good as the tracks we’d heard at the show.

The album opens with one of the best tracks I’ve heard from OLP in a while, “All You Did Was Save My Life”, which should be bombarding airwaves near you soon.  If not, find it on YouTube or iTunes or wherever you go to listen to your music; if you haven’t already got the album.  Likewise, take a listen to “Monkey Brains”, an almost Green-Day sounding rocker that is quintessential OLP.

The 10 songs on this album are Our Lady Peace at their best: pensive, poignant, powerful, poetic.  After a less-than-stellar showing on 2005’s ‘Healthy in Paranoid Times’ – during the writing of which, lead singer Raine Maida, recently admitted to having been tapped out – it is great to see OLP back at the top of their game.

This is their album of redemption and it is one that deserves to be listened to, over and over again.  And if you get the chance to see them live, especially at a smaller venue, don’t hesitate.

Our Lady Peace: Burn Burn
Sony
Steve’s Rating: 10 / 10