With Naveed, Our Lady Peace marked their place on the alternative rock scene. Oddly, though, it is in many ways different than every other OLP album. Drummer Jeremy Taggert is at his freest and most energetic (and man, can the guy play the skins) and many songs are very much riff driven.
While later albums would tone down the guitars, this one celebrates them. This is the most rockish album of Our Lady Peace, their loudest and most effervescent, and is a very strong debut.
The Birdman kicks it off in grand fashion. With a great riff and some furiuos drumming by Taggert, held together by Maida's slightly paranoid howling, this is a treat of a track and one of their strongest. It has a terrific, percussion led crescendo. 4/4
Supersatellite lacks the kick of The Birdman but still has a very tight groove to it and a nice chorus breakdown. Maida carves out his own lyrical territory throughout it, too, bringing a unique technique to the alt rock field. 3.5/4
Starseed begins with an ethnic sounding acoustic guitar riff leading into break neck intro and a terrific chorus. Taggert is particularly present on this track, with a unique beat holding together the verses. This is another terrific track. 4/4
Hope shifts gears into a slower tempo, with a moody bassline prevelant over the drums. They pick it up for the chorus but this song doesn't quite pack the punch of Starseed or The Birdman. 3/4
Naveed, the namesake of the album, builds its intro into a very nice, acoustic based verse. This is the most moving track on the album, and the bridge is the most memorable single point of the entire album, largely led by Taggert who can build a crescendo better than another drummer in rock. The final chorus kicks in with a little bit of extra harmony and sends the song out in style. 4/4
Dirty Walls starts out with a nice beat from Taggert which comes back for the chorus. This one has a tight groove but isn't quite as resonating as the best of the album. We also get a nice little guitar solo here.3/4
Denied makes use of some bongas which adds a unique texture to the song. This has a nice tremolo picking solo to it but other than that is a solid, unspectacular track. 3/4
Is It Safe? has a really nice feel to it. The band members are really clicking on this track, with a nice feel all around. Once again, Taggert is very impressive on this track, with a nice all around feel to rock drumming (he was a jazz drummer by training). This one also has a little guitar solo toward the end that actually has more impressive drumming underneath it. They're not going to confuse anyone for being Hendrix, but it's a nice little touch. 3.5/4
Julia is another rocker, with a very strong lead in and chorus. It also has some of Maida's strongest lyrical moments. RM is less intent on rhyming than giving his lyrics poetic meaning. With a solid guitar solo and very Ginger Baker'ish drumming in terms of fury, this is a highlight. 4/4
Under Zenith, like Denied, starts out aiming more for a moody atmosphere than the butt-kicking energy of the more up tempo tracks. Raine's voice is at its most...well, I'll say Corgan'ish here (meaning it's a bit of an acquired taste). It's not particularly interesting till the bridge, but a the strength of that section and the outro redeem it. 2.5/4
Neon Crossing returns to up tempo rock and has a terrific, catchy chorus. This one has some of the best guitar work of the album. Raine's singing is at its most intense here, too. Appropriately, it ends with Taggert's powerful, snare pounding drumming. 3.5/4
Overall, this is one heck of a debut. It's interesting to observe how OLP evolved their sound, and in some ways disappointing-they didn't truly find their step again till Spiritual Machines, and seemed to lose it again after that.
