You sell out shows, play Woodstock and top charts in the 90s and automatically people know who you are, right? But the ever important question is: whether they’ll listen to your music NOW. For a band like Our Lady Peace, that did all of the afore-mentioned accomplishments, the new millennium has really been a test for their validity.

After the not so successful run of their previous album Healthy In Paranoid Times, the band’s giving it another go around with Burn Burn. And after a record of supposed “total excess," according to Raine Maida, then Burn Burn is a record of “total necessity.”

The beginning track of “All You Did Was Save My Life” is enjoyable within the first 30 seconds. Sure it’s the kind of rock that’s been nearly manufactured by suits and ties. Regardless, the song is catchy and its lyrics invoke a sense of strength and self empowerment. When “Dreamland” first started, I was automatically transported back to that wonderful decade that fell between the years 1990 and 2000. Its sound puts the song in a box with Better Than Ezra and O.A.R. Every member has taken a page from “melodies for the general public” – the guitar is fairly simple and the drums stick mostly with the shinier parts (a.k.a. cymbals). “Monkey Beats” starts of with an odd mixture of alternative and almost hardcore punk. Those simplistic guitars are now thrashing out their apparently suppressed aggression. And with lyrics like “they’re coming after you” boiling up from Raine’s gut, this song has such a power to start out with. Nearly 2 minutes into the song and we’re suddenly floating away in a lullaby, yet still in the same song. You get that for roughly another minute and half, before being thrown head first back into the insanity that started off the song. Between the incredibly fast guitars and just pure rage coming out of the speakers, this song is easily my favorite. Moseying down and you get “The Right Stuff.” As a product of the 90s myself, I had a preconceived notion that this song might resemble a bit of a certain tune by New Kids On The Block. But, unfortunately it was not as such. OK, fortunately for you. Though the lyrics are a tad similar, the pop-infusion was left off of this one. It’s no hardcore style and the lyrics are obviously tailored for easy insertion into people's subconscious. But in the end, the song has a strong dance rock presence. Appropriately named for the last spot, the song “White Flags” finishes everything off. Again, we’re given a rock song, with a set of hooks and rhythms that make it radio-ready. They’re easy to follow and create a song that may leave an imprint on your brain, however probably not a permanent one.

For essentially their first true attempt at a new album (sans label involvement), they’ve done a fair job. Not every song is a cranker, yet there are definite diamonds that deserve being discovered.

Review by: Rachel Fredrickson

Additional links:
- Our Lady Peace on Myspace
- Our Lady Peace's official Website