See + Hear: "Time Bomb" stream
OLP is back from the brink
TORONTO - Four years ago, Our Lady Peace found themselves promoting a new record called "Healthy in Paranoid Times" while the band itself was in a state of total disarray.
Frontman Raine Maida says that album "took way too long, it was too expensive and there was too much drama attached to it." In fact, the Toronto group was on the verge of calling it quits.
But Our Lady Peace survived. Now, Maida says, a few years off and a new approach has the band feeling rejuvenated as they release their seventh album, "Burn Burn."
"This was a big hurdle to get over, but once we got over it, it's like ... the sun opened up," Maida said during a promotional stop in Toronto. "I think it's our best record."
Maida's upbeat assessment of the disc reflects his view of the cohesiveness of the band right now - a stark contrast to the fractured state of the group earlier in the decade.
Our Lady Peace scored their biggest hit with their 1997 sophomore record, "Clumsy," which was certified diamond in Canada and platinum in the United States.
The four records that followed were commercially successful but offered diminishing returns, even as the band made strides toward broadening their appeal by bringing in hitmaker producer Bob Rock for 2002's "Gravity" and "Healthy in Paranoid Times."
But with pressure mounting, tensions in the band rose. During the sessions for "Paranoid," the band parted ways with Rock for a period of time. Nothing seemed to be coming easily, and a break-up seemed inevitable.
"There were moments when we were all sitting alone awake in bed thinking: 'What the (hell) are we going to do?"' Maida recalled.
"Is it worth putting the energy into this band still?"
So they took three years off following the release of that album. Maida worked on solo material, resulting in 2006's "Love Hope Hero EP" and 2007's "The Hunter's Lullaby," an experience Maida calls "cathartic."
He said the time away gave the band the perspective they needed.
"We started to realize that the base we've built over the last 10 or 12 years is incredible," he said.
"The relationship we have with our fans is such an accomplishment and such a success really, that we didn't want one bad record - and not that we even dislike the record, but just the feeling around it - we didn't want that to destroy everything we worked for."
They also wrangled more control over their own work for "Burn Burn," which was produced by Maida during sessions at his L.A. home. He says he aimed for a live-off-the-floor immediacy that harkened back to the process behind the band's 1995 debut, "Naveed."
"We made a conscious effort to decide - and stick to it - no outsiders (allowed)," Maida said of the production. "It was the four of us back in a room, just like the beginning, just trusting our instincts."
The lyrics on "Burn Burn" make reference to the struggles of the past few years while looking to the future. Maida opens buoyant closer "Paper Moon" by singing: "Comes a time when you get turned around/ And life itself just wears you out."
And album centrepiece "The End is Where We Begin" features the chorus: "Here I am, waiting for one last chance/ 'Cause this time we got nothing left to lose, and everything is ruined/ But the end is where we begin."
"That song - I don't know if we've ever had anything as optimistic," Maida said.
"Being able to kind of have the perspective and the objectivity and foresight to look at a situation that is really dour and dark, and flip it and say - OK, it's the typical cliche - one door closes and another opens. "
"It's true. Life is definitely like that."
Officially, Our Lady Peace is now without a label - Maida says that they are handling distribution via various partnerships around the globe.
As a result, the band has more of a stake in their music than they have ever had before. And after getting through a period of total uncertainty, Maida now sounds completely confident when he says Our Lady Peace will still be making music years from now.
"The fact is that we're just having fun and we're so inspired and we finished (this album) and it's a success - whether it sells or not," Maida said. "The shows we've been doing live already, it feels like by far the best live band we've ever been, and the crowds have been ridiculous."
"Maybe it was really good to be away. But it really feels like this band is on a different level now."
The Canadian Press * July 22, 2009
by Nick Patch