Review Summary: Burn Burn isn't Naveed II, but it is their most consistent work since Spiritual Machines.
Let's get a couple things straight right away.
Burn Burn does not sound like
Naveed. Nor was
Burn Burn ever intended to sound like
Naveed. When Raine Maida announced Our Lady Peace's seventh album last fall, he called it the "closest record to
Naveed." Of course, after the vague comparison to the band's debut, people stopped paying attention and missed the explanation. When Raine compared the album to
Naveed, he was referring to the way the album was made rather than the way the music sounded. Not unlike
Naveed or even Maida's solo record, The Hunters Lullaby, Burn Burn was written, recorded, and produced without any outside intrusions.
In many respects, the tense conditions of the
Healthy in Paranoid Times sessions took away from the final product. It isn't any secret that the band almost broke up during the two years it took to make the album, and as good of a record as it was, it was a clear step down from the material the band used to pen. Some of the songs, most notably "Don't Stop" and "Boy" sounded horribly average and forced. In contrast, the making of
Burn Burn went a whole lot more smoothly, and it shows. For
Burn Burn is not only a tighter, more natural sounding release than its predecessor, but it's a stronger record in virtually every regard.
While Our Lady Peace has adjusted their sound a little with each album,
Burn Burn represents some of the mellowest material the band has written in their career. Songs like "Monkey Brains" and "Dreamland", and the bridge of "Never Get Over You" evoke vintage Our Lady Peace, but for the most part
Burn Burn represents a change in direction. The aforementioned "Monkey Brains" is the only track in which guitarist Steve Mazur relies heavily on gritty distortion, and even then the song features a beautiful acoustic break not unlike
Clumsy's "Superman's Dead". That isn't to say that
Burn Burn is lacking in rock songs; the upbeat "White Flags" is another infectious guitar lead track that lacks the aggression of "Monkey Brains" but makes up for it through sheer enthusiasm, while "All You Did Was Save My Life" is a soaring piece that combines Our Lady Peace's anthemic sound with the introspective lyrical work similar to
The Hunters Lullaby.
That said,
Burn Burn particularly focuses on slower tracks, a role in which the band especially shines. Our Lady Peace explores a variety of different themes and styles; "Refuge" is a delicate, sparse piece carried by Maida's sympathetic lyrical delivery and one of drummer Jeremy Taggart's finest performances, whereas "Paper Moon" is a more open sounding track which sees Maida incorporating a light falsetto that hasn't been heard in Our Lady Peace's music since
Spiritual Machines. "Signs of Life" strips down Our Lady Peace's sound even more than "Refuge", embracing acoustic dynamics previously foreign to their sound. From the piano melodies that snake through "Never Get Over You" – directly at first and later subtly – to the lengthy guitar solo in "Paper Moon", Our Lady Peace integrates an assortment of different ideas that make
Burn Burn as diverse as any of their works thus far.
In
Burn Burn, Our Lady Peace haven't released the album so many people wanted to hear – that being
Naveed II –, but they have released their most consistent work since
Spiritual Machines. The record doesn't particularly sound like anything Our Lady Peace has done in the past, but maybe that is what's so exciting about the quartet's seventh release. Each of
Burn Burn's ten tracks has something to offer, be it the subdued excellence of "Signs of Life", the lively aggression of "Monkey Brains" or even the simple optimism of "Dreamland". Really, that's all I really wanted from
Burn Burn. And unsurprisingly, Our Lady Peace delivers.
