The veteran Canadian rockers' tenth studio album and the sequel to the 2000 concept LP of the same name, Spiritual Machines 2 picks right up where its high-minded predecessor left off. Based on author and futurist Ray Kurzweil's AI-themed 1999 book The Age of Spiritual Machines, the set commences with the first of several cursory tracks of spoken dialog from the author before launching into the ebullient lead single "Stop Making Stupid People Famous." Featuring a guest spot from Pussy Riot's Nadya Tolokonnikova, it's built around an elliptical disco backbeat and an equally dynamic vocal from frontman Raine Maida. It's a far cry from the late-'90s guitar-heavy esthetic that dominated 2018's Somethingness and is more or less indicative of what lies ahead. Having joyfully crucified vapid reality TV stars being allotted a platform to influence cultural and political change, Our Lady Peace follow up Kurzweil's prediction that the developed world will have a UBI (universal basic income) by the end of the 2030s with another bouncy, beat-driven number, "Future Disease." Even the more traditional-sounding cuts like "Holes" and "Good Die Young" largely abandon the arena-ready sound of past efforts in favor of something that hews closer to dystopian dance-rock. Some of that sonic attrition can be attributed to the involvement of producer Dave Sitek, whose punchy engineering helped TV on the Radio achieve such a distinctive sound. Despite the predilection toward rhythmic dynamism, the songs can sometimes feel melodically inert, relying too much on groove and repetition. Did Spiritual Machines really need a second act? Sure, why not. OLP has had two decades to recalibrate their world view, and the current zeitgeist is plenty ripe for commentary. It's not subtle, but there's more than enough joyful energy behind all of the armchair philosophizing and utopian world-building to recommend another trip into the future.
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