JiggyJay's Full Review: Spiritual Machines by Our Lady Peace
I found OLP when I was in my local library searching for new CDs to listen to. I found them and felt that their name sounded familiar so I grabbed it and checked it out sort of expecting a crappy Good Charlotte type of band but I just wanted to listen to something. I took it home, put it in my CD player—and hated it. At first listen, I’m pretty sure that the listener will not like OLP. They sound mocking of the rock genre and sound sort of too poppy for my tastes. On the second time through the record, though, I finally figured out and understood this album and I’m happy with it.
Now, I think first off that I should tell you all about the bad things first. Ever couple of songs there is filler of Ray Kurzweil talking from his book “The Age Of Spiritual Machines: When Computers Exceed Human Intelligence” and it’s really annoying. I love hearing the music and then this dude has to interrupt the spirit and momentum of the album? SCREW THAT! Another bad thing is the catchiness. You will sing and sing and sing songs from this album over and over again.
The only thing that annoyed me really is that OLP sounds very similar to Jimmy Eat World and Hoobastank—oddly similar. OLP though, has a specific sound that differs them from any other band. You can tell that in each song on “Spiritual Machines” that they put their heart and soul into their music—and in the long run, it really makes the album more stable and entertaining.
Instead of the dark approach that they took in “Happiness Is Not A Fish That You Can Catch” and the poppy feeling of their latest release, “Gravity”, they have a unique sound that’s their signature in “Spiritual Machines”. They are sort of paranoid and obsessed about artificial intelligence. The songs are also “affected” by the meanings of the songs. When you first hear the songs on this CD, you will think that they are about relationships, but in truth, they are about machines and their love for life and so on and so on.
Another thing that sort of sucked was the so-called “hidden track”. It drags on for minutes with zero noise, and then Ray comes on babbling with a so-called woman machine. It’s an unnecessary tactic and not a reason to keep the CD going just to hear it.
SONGS
“R.K. Intro”--1/10—An intro to the album that is annoying and ridiculously stupid—and quick thankfully.
“Right Behind You (Mafia)--9/10—This is a nice opener to the album, but after you’ve discover the finer tracks, you will easily disregard this song. The guitar lines are nice, though.
“R.K. 2029”--1/10—Yet another filler track of Ray rambling ON AND ON.
“In Repair"--9/10—This is a great song with awesome drumbeats that are rocking and the bass lines are unforgettable, yet the lyrics sort of get stretched and dragged on too far.
“Life”--9/10—Some of the best guitar riffs of the CD is on the song. They are catchy, but have a familiar taste to them. The drums are fresh and nice to listen to.
“Middle Of Yesterday”--9/10—A great song with stead bass notes and the lyrics are good. The lyrics are sweet and really make sense to me. I connect with them. The drums are also great.
“Are You Sad?”--13/10—This song is perhaps OLP’s great song of all time. It starts mellow and soft and slow, but builds up momentum and pace as it explodes at the end with hard rocking beats. It’s a sensational song that is beautiful and awesome. The lead singer’s voice is sort of tweaked to the highest limit, though.
“R.K. 2029 (part 2)”--1/10—Another crappy intermission piece by Ray.
“Made To Heal”--7/10--It has stupid lyrics with a been-there-done-that feeling to it that drags the song out into the cold. It’s an easily forgettable track that I always skip.
“R.K. 1949-1997”--1/10—AGAIN another Ray track that’s stupid, boring, quick, and idiotic and paranoid.
“Everyone’s A Junkie"--9/10—This song is great, but I’m pretty sure not that many people will notice it shine on the first, second, or even THIRD listen. It takes a while to discover it’s nice drumbeats and awesome vocals.
“R.K. On Death”--1/10—This Ray filler is the only one that I can tolerate. The only one I can listen to through instead of skip. It still sucks, though.
“All My Friends"-㬆/10--This is a nice song with melodramatic lyrics, but sadly, it suffers towards the end and drags it down to the bottom of the deep sea. The guitar riffs are amazing and the bass interweaves with the drumming to make an altogether good sound.
“If You Believe”--9/10
“The Wonderful Future”--9/10—This is a great closing track to the whole record, but really doesn’t give you a motive to start the album over again. The bass and guitar riffs sound the same as they recycle each minute, but the drumming is just short of mediocre.
FINAL THOUGHTS
If you like the present day, non-2001 OLP, then you most likely will not like “Spiritual Machines” but if you are a big fan of “Happiness Is Not A Fish That You Can Catch”, you will really enjoy this CD. Each track is catchy in it’s own way, but doesn’t catch your attention until the second or third listen and that’s always a bad thing. So if you have patience, pick up “Spiritual Machines”. If not, I’m sorry, but this album isn’t for you.
JiggyJay
QUOTE FOR THE REVIEW: “Talking Is Just Masturbating Without The Mess.” Our Lady Peace
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