The members of Our Lady Peace look a little lost on the cover of Gravity, and they sound lost in the tracks of the album. Gone is the epic flavor of Spiritual Machines, the swirling chorus', melodies and harmonies. Instead, what we have is mostly very generic rock without much flavor.
After the relative lack of commercial success, perhaps leading to the departure of the founding member and guitarist in favor of a new one, who is unable to leave a discernable impact on the album. Most all the guitar work here is standard issue alt rock power chording, with very little inspiration.
Gone too is Taggert's thundering drumming. Here, Taggert sounds uninspired, almost apathetic to the new sound. He seems to be phoning it all in, and that's truly disappointing because he drives the band like Ginger Baker drove Cream.
That's not to say that there's nothing redeemable about Gravity. Somewhere Out There is a nice track with a nice dynamic to it, and Innocent features a very catchy chorus and some of Maida's best vocal work.
Unfortinately, there's little else that's noteworthy here. The only thing to comment on All For You is that Taggert makes his first use of the double bass peddle, but doesn't seem too interested in doing much exploration of the possibilities with it.
Do You Like It and Not Enough are passable tracks that sound better live than they do on the album, but the rest of it is mostly indistinguishable alt rock that sounds more like filler than anything.
Another huge disappointment is the virtual complete lack of harmonies. Spiritual Machines was full of them, but the most this meager album has to offer is a barely audible one on Sell My Soul.
All in all, this is a big disappointment that doesn't sustain well. After a few listens you'll find yourself enjoying only a few of the tracks, and most of them will get boring after a little while, too. Pass on this one and get Spiritual Machines, instead.
1. All For You **
2. Do You Like It ** 1/2
3. Somewhere Out There ***
4. Innocent ***
5. Made Of Steel ** 1/2
6. Not Enough ***
7. Sell My Soul ** 1/2
8. Sorry **
9. Bring Back The Sun ** 1/2
10. A Story About A Girl **
