Our Lady Peace

Our Lady Peace stands among Canada's top post-grunge acts, repeatedly moving albums to platinum while also earning meaningful notice stateside. The band surfaced in 1994 via the Zeppelin-esque Naveed, which included the breakout single "Starseed," then spent the ensuing decade dominating Canadian airplay—capturing four Juno awards—through releases such as Clumsy, Happiness Is Not a Fish That You Can Catch, Spiritual Machines, Gravity, and Healthy in Paranoid Times. After an extended break, Our Lady Peace reentered the studio for 2009's Burn Burn and kept issuing late-career projects, among them Somethingness (2018) and Spiritual Machines II (2022), that blended anthemic post-grunge with sincere, stadium-ready modern rock.

The musicians first assembled at the University of Toronto in 1992, when vocalist Raine Maida and British expatriate guitarist Mike Turner began performing together as "As If." Bassist Chris Eacrett and jazz drummer Jeremy Taggart soon joined, prompting the quartet to adopt the name Our Lady Peace in homage to a Mark Van Doren poem. Following a deal with Sony's Canadian division, the group delivered 1995's Naveed, a potent debut whose modern-rock success centered on "Starseed." Relativity handled the U.S. release, and Our Lady Peace expanded their continental following by supporting fellow Canadian Alanis Morissette on tour that summer.

After Duncan Coutts replaced Eacrett on bass, the band returned in 1997 with Clumsy. Powered by Raine Maida's distinctive falsetto-heavy singing, the album achieved platinum certification in the U.S. and a rare diamond award in Canada. Two years later came Happiness Is Not a Fish That You Can Catch, a comparatively lighter effort that introduced synthesizers, followed by Spiritual Machines in 2001. Founding guitarist Mike Turner departed shortly afterward over creative differences, with Michigan native Steve Mazur taking his place.

Mazur's arrival coincided with work alongside producer Bob Rock on the more commercial, mainstream-oriented Gravity, issued in 2002. Maida's falsetto was missing from the record, a shift that surprised some longtime listeners. Even so, the polished collection yielded several international singles, notably "Somewhere Out There" and "Innocent." Extensive touring across Canada and the U.S. ensued, later preserved on the concert album Live from Calgary and Edmonton. The band reunited with Bob Rock for another project, yet sessions grew strained and nearly ended the group. Healthy in Paranoid Times finally appeared in late August 2005, reaching platinum but falling short of prior commercial peaks. Raine Maida later distanced himself from the album, stating that the band had devoted excessive effort to crafting potential singles for American radio.

A Decade, a greatest-hits compilation marking the band's first decade, returned Our Lady Peace to strong chart positions in 2006. The set earned platinum status in the U.S. and, like 1997's Clumsy, diamond certification in Canada. Two years afterward, an unexpected boost arrived via the American television program American Idol when contestant David Cook repeatedly championed the band's music. Cook ultimately won the competition, after which Maida briefly collaborated with the emerging artist on his platinum debut before refocusing on Our Lady Peace. The resulting Burn Burn surfaced in 2009. The alt-rock outfit's eighth studio album broadened its scope across nine tracks that Maida characterized as "more experimental and ambitious" than earlier work. The subsequent Curve, led by the single "Heavyweights," appeared in spring 2012. Longtime drummer Jeremy Taggart exited in 2014, and Jason Pierce (the Weekend) took over, making his studio debut on 2017's Somethingness, drawn from two previously issued EPs. Our Lady Peace issued its tenth studio LP, Spiritual Machines II, in 2022. Produced by TV on the Radio's Dave Sitek, the fifteen-song collection was positioned as a direct sequel to the 2000 art-rock concept album Spiritual Machines and included a guest appearance by Pussy Riot on the lead single "Stop Making Stupid People Famous." It also welcomed the return of co-founder and guitarist Mike Turner.