In the liner notes to Healthy in Paranoid Times, the sixth studio CD released by Toronto-based alternative rock band Our Lady Peace-and the band's first in three years-there are various photos of walls where facts are scrawled.
\1165 days were needed to record Healthy in Paranoid Times,"" it reads, and a flip of the page reveals a veritable laundry list of facts and figures that document everything right down to how many gigabytes of computer storage were needed to record the album (6,000). But a closer look at the inventory reveals Our Lady Peace's political and social viewpoints: ""30 active wars were fought across the globe; $815 billion were profited by pharmaceutical companies; 3 billion people lived on $2 a day.""
It seems to be meant to show listeners the worthlessness of music in the face of war, corporate profiteering, and poverty. Such a noble endeavor is certainly one of the more fascinating and virtuous uses of a liner note booklet, but what about the music? Does Our Lady Peace's first album since reinventing themselves on Colombia records with 2002's Gravity live up to such a noble cause?
Healthy In Paranoid Times is a much more atmospheric and moody album than Gravity, but it has memorable hooks as well so as to hopefully reproduce the popularity of songs such as ""Somewhere Out There"" and ""Innocent"" on the former album. Indeed, songs such as the catchy ""Love and Trust"" were certainly formulated with Gravity's success weighing heavily on the band members' minds. The CD's first single, the Killers-esque ""Where Are You,"" blends typical OLP guitars and wailing vocals in the chorus and bridge with newer punk-rock inspired verses in the beginning.
A stumbling point, however, is the way OLP segues from poignant, moody songs like ""Wipe That Smile Off Your Face,"" ""Apology"" and ""Al Genina (Leave the Light On)"" to more whimsical fare, such as the poppy and overdramatic ""The World On a String.""
On the latter, crescendos in the guitars and choral arrangements seem misplaced and overdone, while on the aforementioned ""Apology"" they compliment singer Raine Maida's slow, somber cries. In fact, ""Apology"" is the highlight of the album, and ""Love and Trust"" seems destined to be the next ""Somewhere Out There"" on the airwaves. This means that OLP's foray into punk-pop only succeeds in breaking up the tone of the album and little else.
Yet the question remains whether the music on Healthy In Paranoid Times actually reflects the band's gallant political causes. With the exception of the plodding, brooding ""Wipe That Smile Off Your Face,"" where the band proclaims ""The time has come to drop the bomb on all the pain you've been selling,"" other tracks' lyrics are relatively sterile.
This is another disappointment, since regardless of whether you agree or disagree, the idea of a band maintaining their convictions in the face of record label pressure to conform is encouraging. Yet the album is a solid effort, despite the strained punk songs and a tendency for less favorable songs to drag on, while better songs are cut short.
