|
 |
 |
Photo
credit: Dustin Rabin
Click images for high res download
|
OUR
LADY PEACE
Burn
Burn
Raine
Maida – vocalist
Duncan Coutts - bass
Jeremy Taggart - drums
Steve Mazur - guitar
Press
Release, October 5, 2009
Full circle: a theme that eagerly resonates with each member
of multiplatinum survivors, Our Lady Peace. As the band approaches
the release of their seventh studio album, a feeling of renewal
and excitement washes over Toronto’s favorite sons in a manner
not felt since their earliest days.
Self-produced in lead
singer Raine Maida’s Los Angeles home studio, the 10-track
Burn Burn (in stores July 21), marks the longest period between
studio albums for Our Lady Peace. It also signifies a sonic and
philosophical rebirth. The band now enjoys a creative and professional
freedom that they haven’t experienced since the release of
their now classic debut. “I think about the way we made
Naveed,” Maida recalls. “We were just starting,
we knew nothing about the business and we had no expectations. It
was four guys in a room just trusting their instincts. We went back
to that. ‘Liberating’ doesn’t really even sum
it up.”
Burn Burn is a
triumphant return to what Maida terms “a proper, mature rock
album,” steeped in the kind of raw intensity that drove their
early material. Blinding rays of anthemic light make way to the
tender poise and precision of a band that was looking for a way
out and found a satisfying new way in.
With caution thrown to
the wind, tracks such as the stunningly arranged “Dreamland”
and the overpowering first single, “All You Did Was Save My
Life,” soar above angry clouds of confusion and insecurity
with an ascending clarity that can only come from experience and
growth.
The pounding affirmation
of “The Right Stuff” and the vigilant build of band
favorite “Refuge,” also reinforce the notion that OLP
now occupy a unique and enviable mindspace. “We’re not
looking back with any kind of regret,” Maida points out, “but
we’ve been doing this long enough now that we know what we
want to say. We didn’t want to compromise a thing.”
Having scattered in different
directions after the release of 2005’s Healthy In Paranoid
Times, all four members took on projects of their own, ranging
from solo records, production and songwriting work, tours and guest
performances. Over the last two years, Raine Maida, guitarist Steve
Mazur, bassist Duncan Coutts and drummer Jeremy Taggart sporadically
reconvened and lived at Madia’s home, creating what he calls
their best effort to date.
Members would leave each
session without tapes, giving themselves a much fresher perspective
on the material they created when they returned. Producing themselves
and an adherence to rolling tape off the floor gave birth to an
urgent, natural body of work. “We didn’t put a lot of
pressure on ourselves,” Coutts confirms. “We left things
alone and haven't done that in a long time."
“For us,”
adds Maida, “a big part of this band is playing live. It has
to be something that we’re going to enjoy; a real dynamic
collection of songs. When we really started to understand that,
the record took on this whole other life.”
This work ethic allowed
room for guitarist Steve Mazur, who joined the band in 2002, to
blossom on Burn Burn. “On this album I really felt
comfortable with my role and what I sound like as the guitarist
of Our Lady Peace.” Mazur shines on tracks such as “Escape
Artist” and “Paper Moon,” a song where Mazur’s
solowork was nailed on the first go-round.
Our Lady Peace is also
striking out on their own professionally this time around, opting
for what the band terms a “true partnership” with both
North American record labels. “We’ve never been this
prepared for an album,” adds OLP founding member Jeremy Taggart.
“In the past, we’ve never had the foresight to have
maybe two or three singles in the can already with videos, etc.”
“Nobody knows us
better than ourselves,” Taggart continues. “We didn’t
over think a good song or idea or under think anything. The good
songs really picked themselves.”
"Burn Burn"
Official Tracklisting:
1.) All You Did Was Save My Life
2.) Dreamland
3.) Monkey Brains
4.) Never Get Over You
5.) Escape Artist
6.) Refuge
7.) The Right Stuff
8.) Paper Moon
9.) Signs Of Life
10.) White Flags
Web: http://www.ourladypeace.net/
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/ourladypeace
[back
to top] |