Customer Reviews

Spiritual Machines

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

It is true that "Spiritual Machines" was written and released fairly quickly after "Happiness...". Some people might think its lack of long production hours is not OLP like and that the writing is not as poetic as they've been in the past. I believe these statements to be true, nevertheless creating an absolute masterpiece. It seems to me that the band got together and created an album with minimal thoughts and full of hearts. The band has never sound in such harmony! They actually sound happy, you can imagine them smiling during their recording. There is no doubt that the album is more commercial than anything they've done in the past, but they've never made an album that made me shiver from song to song like this one, at least musically. Granted the lyrics are more for Joe Radio, but if radio stations are to play the same songs over and over again, let it be from this album! So I just smile, imagine that they're doing the same and play this album over and over again.

I've seen reviews stating that this is carbon-copy of Radiohead's OK Computer (that same review calls their sound "original," and "unoriginal."). The topics are taken from Ray Kurzweil's book of the same name, so a carbon-copy it is not. As the reviewer later stated, other bands have tackled the same topic. It's not unique. Nevertheless, a somewhat stale alt-rock concept is not the point. Musically, OLP are as strong as they have ever been. People who call them radio-ready tunes must never actually listen to the radio. These are genuine, heart-felt, emotionally-driven rock songs (no pop or rap-rock anywhere). Their "cliches" are simply emotions felt by a lot of people, and technically speaking, they aren't cliches. Although their lyrics can sometimes get dippy at times, OLP still make strong emotional points. As a whole album, it equals Happiness. If you dislike concept albums, Happiness will seem better. Or vice versa. But both are incredibly good, all the way through. Clumsy was a scatter-shot quality album. Some of the songs were powerful, others were muddled grunge-wannabes. Naveed was a more simplistic album, and lacked the song-writing maturity OLP have gained. If this is the next evolutionary step, then it is an extremely positive one. Definitely buy this album and Happiness...

Our Lady Peace is easily on of the best bands working today. "Happiness..." was one of the best rock albums of 1999, but was completely ignored in the US. Hopefully the same will not be true for "Spiritual Machines". Although not as polished and cohesive as "Happiness...", songs such as "Right Behind You (Mafia)" and "Made to Heal" easily rank with OLP's best work. When it hits the States in March, it is definitely worth picking up.

When I heard OLP had released a new album, I weet to their website to see about a release date. March 2001... I just can't wait that long. I have been a huge fan of OLP since I heard them open up for another favorite band... Creed. After that concert I went straight for the nearest record store and bought all 3 albums. I should be getting their new album soon... I have downloaded all the demo tracks, and let me tell you. Awesome. Truly awesome. This album has everything... rocking beats to slow melodies.... I think there best album to date.... now I'm counting the days until it arrives.

....all i know is that i've been listening to our lady peace since clumsy came out (their second album i know, i was 7 when the first one came out!) and this one is surely the best. the VERY best songs on spiritual machines is "are you sad" (the best one EVER, actually), "the wonderful future", "in repair", "if you believe".... ALL OF 'EM! if you are an our lady peace fan, THIS IS SURLY A MUST!!! and to those who say that this album was rushed, i really don't think it was. everything was amazingly put together in a way that i seriously cannot explain. the song writing skills are way MORE than amazing. and the music is WAY too much to handle - i've already memorized the lyrics to every song on that CD, even the talking parts. and aslo, i would like to add: the R.k intros do not disrupt the flow of the songs. they actually add a lot to the meaning of the album, in many ways. and, who over said that this album was like ok computer by radiohead... well, let's just say i have both Cd's and they are both totally different geners (radiohead being alternitive, our lady peace being ROCK) and they sound TOTALLY DIFFERENT. so, once again BYE THIS, YOU WILL ~NOT~ BE DISSAPOINTED!!

Spirtual Machines is one of the best albums I have ever heard. Our Lady Peace has been around for a long time and every album they put out is better than the last. When are these guys gonna get big in the states?

Best kept secret. What a band! What a cd!

If you live in the U.S. it is definitely worth NOT waiting until March for this one. Smart to pick up big Christmas record sales in Canada, OLP has created some of its best work to date and released it on Dec. 16--now if only U.S. radio (and right now record stores) were in on the whole thing.

The album's only drawback is a number of spoken interludes, most of them under 10 seconds, that disrupt the flow of the songs. It's nice to hear the words from Ray Kurzweil's book, but, if you wanted those, you would have bought the book, right?

But, focusing on the tunes... simply put, you can't go wrong. "Right Behind You (Mafia)" might be a better opening track than "Superman's Dead" was for Clumsy. No song is a slouch and many positively shine.

"Life" is one of the OLP-staple arena-rock sing-a-longs, but the REAL standout is the stellar "Are You Sad?" "Are You Sad?", as far as this reviewer is concerned, is the best song on here, and might even be able to compete with songs like "Starseed," "Naveed" and "4 a.m." as one of the best songs in the band's (now large) repertoire.

This is a strong album that shows OLP doing what they do even better and, with any luck, gets them more U.S. recognition.

I will be honest, I went into the listening and "grading" of this album with a bias.

Our Lady Peace has been one of my favorite bands for the past 3 years. They could have turned out an absolutely horrible 4th effort, and I still would have found something enjoyable in it. Luckily, however, this is notthe case. OLP released this album quickly after their second most recent release, Happiness... and some people believe it is rushed in all respects, and that this shows in the lyrics and the melody of the songs, which they claim are "unoriginal". I disagree. If anything, my only complaint about the album is that it is short, and maybe the addition of 1 or 2 tracks would have made a world of difference. The tracks "In Repair" and "Middle of Yesterday" stick out most clearly to me, but each song has it's own unique attraction. This album is a MUST for anyone who has ever appreciated anything by Our Lady Peace, and for anyone who's ever appreciated *good music*!

For those of you who find Spiritual Machines to be less than Happiness, or any other work by OLP, please, listen to it again. In fact, listen to it repeatedly until you come to the realization that it is a perfect progression for the band. These guys seem to have been all over the emotional scale with their previous work (danger to sadness, anger to depression)and have arrived at a postive place that is not quite the simple, goofy happiness the execution of Life suggests. Theirs is an optimism tempered with realism ("it's all messed up but we'll survive). Like most OLP records, after a few listens I cannot seem to get the songs out of my head. Like most people, I first discovered Supermans Dead, Clumsy, and One Man Army. Upon deeper investigation I became entranced with 4AM,Thief and Stealing Babies. While radio listeners may become enamored of Life this March, Spiritual Machines offers much more to the listener who cares to find it. [the "hidden track" is worthy of only the most Orwellian mind-altered state] To the die-hard OLP fans, buy this import and save yourself the wait.