The eighth studio album from
Our Lady Peace finds the Canadian-born Los Angeles-based alt-rockers pushing the boundaries, offering up a nine-song set that lead singer
Raine Maida describes as "more experimental and ambitious" than any of their previous outings. The resulting
Curve more or less lives up to its ballpark idiom, and while it may not signal a complete reinvention, it definitely distances itself from the calculated guitar-driven alt-rock that dominated 2009's Burn Burn. Stand-out cuts like the hooky, instantly gratifying "As Fast as You Can" and the moody
Radiohead-meets-
the National single "Heavyweights," are adventurous and radio ready, allowing room for both the band and
Maida, whose distinctive warble remains more than respectable, to strut their stuff. ~ James Christopher Monger