Our Lady Peace

Concept albums are dangerous ground for fledgling rock groups. In creating one, the band must be sure to tie together all songs musically and lyrically with some introspective idea. Few have achieved this with reasonable success. Most fall flat on their faces, just as Marilyn Manson did with last year's flop, Holy Wood. Despite the risks of either creating a masterpiece or a catastrophe, Our Lady Peace set out to create Spiritual Machines, a venture into a futuristic world where machines have a conscience with which they incorporate themselves into human society. Specifically, it is a musical interpretation of Ray Kurzweil's book "The Age of Spiritual Machines."\n OLP doesn't falter in trying to create a concept album. It falters in trying too hard to make a concept album. Instead of simply using lyrical elements to unite songs, five spoken word interludes are scattered around the album to create a story. Take away these "R.K." interludes, and Spiritual Machines is suddenly 10 songs of strong, alternative rock, the dying genre of which OLP previously has managed to create three powerful and compelling albums. Machines is not much of a deviation from 1999's Happiness…Is Not A Fish That You Can Catch. Clever hooks, crunching guitars in even the softest of songs and some subtle computer-generated sounds prove OLP still has what it takes. The first musical track, "Right Behind You (Mafia)," is a much stronger opening than the seven-second "R.K. Intro."\n "Life," the album's first single, holds its own with its mellow sound and sentimentality mixed with Raine Maida's overwhelming lyrics. While the song has little of the commercial potential as the band's previous hits like "Superman's Dead" and "One Man Army," it stays true to OLP's style, a feat in itself considering last year's demise of its predecessor, the Smashing Pumpkins.\nAfter an accident sidelined drummer Jeremy Taggart, Pearl Jam beat man Matt Cameron joined in to help complete Machines. Among others, Cameron can be heard on the ballad "Are You Sad?," OLP's most powerful ballad since "Clumsy."\nOLP's genre hasn't had much success of late, but tracks like "Made To Heal" and "If You Believe" show there is still a candle on the alt-rock flame, small as it might be. But instead of venturing off into unknown and seemingly overbearing territory, OLP should stick with the music that got it where it is today.