The stalwart Canadian alt-rockers' ninth long-player, and their first full-length record since 2012's
Curve,
Somethingness' first installment arrived in late 2017 as a four-song EP, with plans for Pt. 2 to be released in early 2018. Instead,
Our Lady Peace decided to weld the two halves together, resulting in a nine-song set that plays to both the group's strengths and weaknesses, depending on where the listener falls on the
OLP spectrum. Early standouts like the propulsive "Head Down" and the wistful but spirited "Ballad of a Poet" will appease longtime listeners with their familiar cadences and nostalgia-driven narratives, and at a mere nine tracks, the set never falls victim to bloat, even if the "all-killer-no-filler" idiom doesn't necessarily apply. Fittingly stocked with stadium-baiting melodies, earnest lyrics, and tried-and-true, workmanlike arrangements -- the band's reputation for sonic innovation is somewhat buffered by their adherence to mid-'90s modern rock architecture --
Somethingness is both rote and rousing, like a sweaty, after-a-couple-of-beers, deep high-five. ~ James Christopher Monger