It's clear that
Our Lady Peace
has ambition. The title of the band's third album,
Happiness Is Not a Fish That You Can Catch
, feels like a relic from the late '70s, when even average arena rockers had the ambition to at least title their record as if it were a concept album, or some sort of mystical discourse.
shares that desire for grandeur, even if its music remains entrenched in the days after
Nirvana
,
Pearl Jam
, and
Soundgarden
conquered the
rock
world. As a matter of fact,
Our Lady
's music has pretty much stayed the same since its debut -- the main difference is that now there is an overarching sense of ambition, even pretension, that runs through the music. It doesn't always translate to tape, it may never be something concrete, but it sure as hell can be sensed, which is half the battle. The second half is actually achieving something concrete, and the band needs to jump the next hurdle and get itself out of the
post-grunge
straightjacket. They do heavy angst
guitar rock
well, but it hasn't really progressed much since their debut; they simply execute it better. Not even the addition of
jazz
great
Elvin Jones
to the final track,
"Stealing Babies,"
changes the sound of the band, which is quite an accomplishment. Since
OLP
remain tethered to the gargantuan guitars and rhythms of
grunge
, that means their main distinguishing feature is vocalist
Raine Maida
, whose convoluted phrasing manages to undercut any melodic hook he may have written. This has been true since their debut, but it fits
Happiness
the best, since the music also lurches in unpredictable ways without ever really escaping convention. So, it's easy to respect what
is trying to do with its third album, but it would be easier to like it if the band actually had succeeded. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine