March 22, 1994 - Our Lady Peace and Naveed

Not only is today a double release day, but it's a double new band release day as Our Lady Peace released their debut album "Naveed" on March 22, 1994. But who are Our Lady Peace? They are a four-piece alternative rock band from Toronto, Ontario consisting of lead singer Raine Maida, guitarist Mike Turner, bassist Chris Eacrett and drummer Jeremy Taggart. OLP were still quite young and immature when they recorded this album, but it showcases their unique rock style and Raine Maida is a one-of-a-kind singer. Let's see what Our Lady Peace is all about!

The album kicks off with "The Birdman" and they kick right into their first verse with Turner playing some quiet, but catchy guitar and Taggart playing a nice drum beat while Maida sings a quiet verse overtop and we hear the first of many sides to his voice. They segue nicely from here into a similar riff, but things get way louder and Turner takes the lead with some cool guitar before they settle back into another verse. Maida sings a nice "get it on, get it on" that leads into the first catchy chorus with more cool guitar and drums. After another verse and chorus they slow things down and Maida sings "I feel him" and sets the stage for a cool little solo. After a couple more choruses, we hear Maida sings some "I feel him close, feel him hiiiiiigh" and he really shows off how high he can go as they finish off this pretty sweet introduction to OLP. The first five songs on the album all ended up being singles actually and up next is "Supersatellite" which has a cool light guitar to start before they kick into a nice heavier riff with some cool bass by Eacrett. The light guitar returns for the verse as Raine continues to show off his unique and interesting vocal style. The chorus has several long  "supeeeeeeeeeersatellite"s overtop a solid guitar riff and Maida continues to show more sides to his voice. Another verse and chorus later they move into a solid new bridge riff and then a nice segue back to the chorus. After a couple choruses they then lightly jam things out. Track 3 was very popular, titled "Starseed" and it has a cool guitar opening by Turner that's light but epic, then Eacrett and Taggart form a pretty cool rhythm section and set up Turner nicely to enter with a sweet lead guitar riff. The guitar drops out for the start of the verse as Maida sings nicely overtop the rhythm section and the guitar comes thundering back in while Raine sings "yeah-e-yeah-e-yeah-e-yeah-e" in a pretty cool part. They repeat this nice process and then segue into a nice fast-paced chorus with Maida sounding great leading the way. After another verse and chorus Turner delivers a guitar solo that isn't especially flashy but it fits the mood well and after a final chorus there's a nice heavy finish. The next song is called "Hope" and it goes right into a slow but solid main riff with nice bass and light guitar as Maida sings nicely overtop. They switch to a nice heavy chorus as Raine almost yells "my god she said" several times. They play another verse and chorus and then Maida does some distorted, trippy vocals to kick off a short bridge riff which segues right back into the end of the verse and then the chorus. The song seems like it's coming to a solid end, but then the light guitar resumes and there's some more distorted vocals overtop some cool new guitar by Turner for the final minute. The fifth track and final single is the title track "Naveed" and Eacrett opens things with a nice catchy bass riff and Taggart then comes in with a cool drum beat as well and his snare sounds nice and emphatic every hit. Maida sings a few "come come Naveed"s and then Turner finally joins in with some cool lead guitar overtop the great rhythm section. The guitar quiets down for the verse as Raine nicely sings overtop and he and the guitar get louder in the catchy chorus. Turner plays some more coop guitar as they enter into the next verse and chorus and then things quiet down for the new bridge riff. Taggart's drums contine to sound great and Maida leads a nice new verse that starts quiet but increases in volume at the end as they build nicely into another catchy chorus. Raine does a nice final "I can't live here anymore, anymore!" and then they close out the song as it began with a great rhythm section and Maida singing "come come Naveed" as things fade to a finish. Very cool song! Up next is "Dirty Walls" and Taggart plays another great catchy drum beat with more emphatic snare hits and Turner leads the way with a guitar riff that matches the same rhythm. Maida sings a nice verse overtop and holds some nice long notes.but he just sings the name of the song over and over in the chorus overtop some decent guitar by Turner. Another verse and chorus later Turner squeezes in a quiet and short guitar solo that sounds solid and then they tie things back to the chorus before Turner closes out the song nicely. Track 7 is "Denied" and Taggart starts things off with another cool drum beat and Turner plays a slow but epic guitar riff overtop as Maida begins to sing another cool verse in his one-of-a-kind voice. They snap into a new heavy riff nicely  but then quiet it down again for another verse before we finally reach the loud and catchy chorus and Maida sounds great. After another solid verse and chorus Turner breaks out into a guitar solo and he nails this one with an epic solo that sounds pretty damn sweet. After the solo they nicely bring things back to the chorus and then jam out the heavy riff while Maida rambles and sings up, down and in every which direction and I think he sounds great. They close out the song with a slow, distorted finish that sounds nice and heavy and this was yet another pretty cool song. The next song is "Is It Safe?" and Turner leads the way with another cool guitar riff and as Maida sings a solid verse Turner switches to some louder guitar as things move along, eventually reaching the catchy chorus. Turner continues to play some solid guitar and Raine holds some more interesting long notes in his unique style. After another verse and chorus Turner plays a short distorted guitar solo and Taggart adds some nice drums as well. Turner ties things nicely back to the chorus and then they end things on a decent note. Track 9 is "Julia" and Taggart plays some more solid drums to kick us off and Turner plays a bit of guitar before it falls away to start the verse. Eacrett's bass sounds great and Maida sings nicely overtop the rhythm section until Turner joins back in for the latter part of the verse. This Carrie's right into a similar chorus and then they hit reset as Turner returns to the opening guitar riff and we settle in for another verse and chorus. Maida then sings a new bridge verse that seems like it's leading somewhere, but that somewhere turns out to be just another verse in an unexciting turn. They then jam out a couple choruses before ending the song nicely with some cool guitar and Maida singing "sweet sweet Julia!". Up next is "Under Zenith" and it's got a slow pace with Eacrett keeping the pace with some slow bass and Taggart playing yet another cool drum beat while Turner adds some slow guitar. Maida sings a nice verse to match this interesting vibe and the latter part of the verse shifts to some louder guitar and Raine sounding great singing overtop. The chorus is just Maida singing some long "ohhhhh"s before the single line "leave a little room for us to breathe". They play another nice slow verse followed by another chorus and then shift slightly up to a new riff with some higher guitar and high vocals from Maida that brings us right to the end of this interesting song. The final track on the album is "Neon Crossing" and Turner kicks right into a cool fast-paced guitar riff that drives this song and the rhythm section nicely falls in and Maida begins to sing the verse. It rolls right into a nice upbeat chorus and Raine continues to sound great. After another verse and chorus everything but the drums falls out briefly as Taggart plays a solid drum beat and then Turner comes thundering back in with some sweet fast guitar that builds and somehow becomes the final chorus to finish things off.

That is the end of "Naveed" and I thought it was a pretty sweet album, especially for a debut! Our Lady Peace have their own distinctive style of "alternative" rock and every song on the album was solid with no real low points. I thought Jeremy Taggart's drums sounded great throughout the album, Chris Eacrett played some cool bass riffs, Mike Turner definitely played some sweet guitar throughout the album and what can be said about Raine Maida. He's a unique singer that uses weird inflections and long-held notes but he sounds pretty good on every song. "Naveed" was probably my favourite song but there was lots to like on this album and I can't wait to see where OLP will go from here!