RileyLewis

Bob Rock ruined Our Lady Peace, in my opinion (and they've never recovered). Rock is a fan of power chords and simple melodies, and taking away any unique sound in favour of making a bland rock album. Most hardcore fans of various bands (Metallica, Our Lady Peace, etc) don't like him for what he did for those bands. Technically he might know what he is doing, and he knows how to make music that sells records, but at the expense of artistic expression, I think. However, that's only a fan's perspective. I know OLP really don't like him for what he did for them, but maybe other bands/artists like him as a person.

Currently I'd go with (assuming no ties allowed): Mutineering Garden of Knives So Close Arrows of Desire Letters in Wartime We're Long Gone Via Dolorosa Hey Heaven Hell Guns of Carolina Had It Coming So close doesn't have as strong a chorus as the others near the top, but I really love the rest of it. I also can't wait to hear We're Long Gone live. It seems like it will be amazingly energetic.

That's actually a good way to describe the entire album. It's pretty much just go-go-go. There's very little pause or slowdown in the songs, or any massive build ups like Avalanche or Non Populus or Change of Season, etc. I think one 'epic' song would have been nice, but I can't complain because honestly I would rate this as his 2nd-best solo album (after Avalanche). The fact that he can match or exceed his earlier work proves how much talent he has. So many artists metaphorically blow their load on their early work and then slowly fade away. But Matt has been able to not only survive, but actually continue to improve his music. That's just awesome.

I just can't believe how much Mutineering could fit on Audio of Being. And I'm not saying that's either a good or bad thing (though the album was great). But wow it would fit on there. Can't get enough of the song though.

Sounds good! Hopefully there's someone here you can meet up with at one of the shows. If you were going to Regina or Saskatoon then I would have! It's unfortunate that it will be in the winter (gonna be cold and snowy!), but as long as it's a clear couple of days then visiting the mountains should be nice. And driving on the prairies in Canada is really easy, too, so the trips should be simple (totally unlike the US east, it's basically just big cities separated by hundreds to thousands of kilometers of open sky). Bring a warm jacket!

I get the same vibe with that vocal style, and I love it! If I HAD to rate them now (and surely this will change over time): 1. Mutineering/Garden of Knives 2. We're Long Gone/Letters in Wartime/Arrows of Desire 3. Hey Hell Heaven/Via Dolorsa 4. So Close 5. Guns of Carolina 6. Had It Coming Something like that. I envy those of you who haven't heard the songs yet and will be able to go through them all at once for the first time!

The only thing this album is missing is a longer experimental-style track like Non Populus or Near Fantastica, etc. Letters in Wartime is close in terms of length, but doesn't have quite the same build to it as the aforementioned songs. The omission is easy enough to forgive however for the fact that all 10 tracks are so strong.

It's a cool idea, but if you want to cut down a bit of road time (and not have multiple 7-8 hour road trips) then you might want to start in Saskatoon, then Regina (skipping Lloydminster to have 1 night off and not having to backtrack a lot of distance), then Regina, then Medicine Hat, then Edmonton, then Calgary. I think it would be cooler to see Calgary than Winnipeg or Thunder Bay on the other end, personally.

Mutineering is quickly becoming my favourite.

Also Matt, do you see the future for musicians making money to be primarily about touring, and not music sales? Obviously musicians only make a fraction of the profits on music sales anyway so it's already effectively the case. But with music being instantly available online for free on torrent sites that anyone under 30-40 can get in 2 minutes, do you see the future as being more about concerts and less about actually trying to sell CDs, and instead about simply promoting the music by any means possible, including piracy? It's hard to predict how industries change, but it does seem the writing is on the wall for the music industry, at least as far as traditional publishing is concerned.

Yeah it's great to have a #3 album that is sweeping the American morning shows and having soccer moms dancing around to it like Blurred Lines, but there's a cost to it in personal integrity. On the other hand...money is great! But if you can find a way to make music you like, and music that keeps fans coming to shows and keeps a reasonable income coming in, then that's a good place to be. A part of everyone wants to receive validation for their work, whether it's popular or critical in nature, but it's also important to decide where you want that validation and impression to come from. As for honesty on this album, I would say the thing that impresses me the most is the polish and mixing. While Vancouver is a great album, as an example, sometimes it felt repetitive in the way that sounds were used, almost as if there were hollow points in some songs, like an extra guitar layer or something was missing. There is none of that here, it feels very rich, if that is the right term to use. Basically, I can already tell that 4 months from now I will find some new sound in a song I never really noticed before. Even though it's a (not-quite-stripped-down) rock album, it has some complexity to it. And I'll be honest, I'm loving that you put out a rock album, with whatever prefix people want to put on, alternative or otherwise. Lights was a good album (and Non Populus is probably one of my favourite pieces of music ever), but there's something about a good driving guitar and loud drums that can't be replaced for me. So basically, tl;dr: Best mixing/polish on any of your CDs, the richness is evident. And these sound like they will be fantastic live. The only downside to having this much good music is that you can't possibly fit enough songs in a show to satisfy us! On that note, have you ever thought of doing a 20-year celebration tour? From what I understand you're not the biggest fan of Our Lady Peace, but what they did a few years ago with their Clumsy/Spiritual Machines Tour was very impressive. They would play an entire older album as the 1st set, and then after a short break come back for a second complete show with a collection of best songs. So 2.5-3 hours in celebration of their older more popular albums plus newer stuff. The big difference with them is that OLP hit their peak (if you like their music) back in the late 90s and hasn't ever really caught any creative spark since then, whereas you continue to do new things and innovate with time. Anyway, I'll be seeing you in Regina with a VIP package, and I look forward to the great show! I might drive up to Saskatoon for another one, too. Whatever I can to help you keep making new pieces of music! I as well. One of my jobs is as a dance instructor, and when I drive out to teach schools in small towns I need a few hours of music to listen to, and that's where I break in most new CDs. There's nothing like driving on the highway with good music going.

I agree that Garden of Knives fits in with the best MG songs, it's very very strong. I think right now that Via Dolorosa is my 2nd favourite. I like Hey Hell Heaven but as I've said before, I actually think the pre-chorus in the first part of the song is even stronger than the chorus itself. Might have to do some audio editing and remixing once the CD comes out...get a remix for my own use! A great song, regardless. Had It Coming definitely sticks out in terms of not being the same as the others, but it's still a good song. And the one thing it has done is get Matt noticed on radio, I've heard it a lot in Regina and a few people have mentioned it to me that they like it, and that it's different from what it out there right now. I still need to give the 3 newest songs some good listening-to before I can comment on them, but I really like the sound of So Close.

The entire album is great. He's knocked it out of the park with this one, his best album in years, perhaps ever (it will take a few months of listening to decide that subjectively!).

What I love about it is that it's almost got 2 choruses. This part of the main verse near the beginning could be a chorus in its own right:

I can honestly say that with the 7 songs that have been released this is possibly his best work (in my opinion). It's so well-rounded, and while varied also has a common sound. Had It Coming is the one that sticks out as quite different, and it's also the song I don't like quite as much as the rest. It's a good song, don't get me wrong, but I think it's not representative of the rest. Everything just seems so well thought-out and balanced in these songs. There's no empty spaces or repetition, everything just fits nicely. Very good job!

Sweet, I'll definitely be picking up some shirts at the tour.

This is his best album in a decade, just based on the 5 songs I've heard. Not saying the other CDs have been bad, they've been great. But this is on a whole different level of solid.

So is this the single instead of Arrows of Desire?

Arrows of Desire is a fantastic choice for a single.

We definitely need the setlists posted.

Just got my VIP ticket for the Regina show! Very excited.

Fantastic work on the music as always Matt.

For those who have the willpower to avoid them and will be waiting until the CD releases, let me tell you that this sounds like his most solid work in years. Everything just fits.

I'm having a hard time with the lyrics for Arrows of Desire, here's my best guess: On a ruined wind a sea I promise right in front of you sell the bombs to crash the heart those gates, so irremovable Oh we can't beg we will bend again oh we can't beg but we will bend again Oh in thin air, we lie in wait oh in thin air, we lie in wait oh we lie in wait. hell to lose weight for the work to come and then to hell with you over the fire, a time the bear will throw us below, away (??) Here's my golden spear Here's my goldie (??) spare (??) Oh in thin air, we lie in wait oh in thin air, we lie in wait oh we lie in wait Oh in thin air, we lie in wait oh in thin air, we lie in wait oh we lie in wait we lie in wait

The stream versions of Garden of Knives and Arrows of Desire are much better than the samples, but they are still compressed a bit, and quite tinny. Very excited for the CD. EDIT - Really liking Arrows of Desire so far (the song). I like the main verses quite a bit. These 2 songs have me very excited for the CD. Garden is very different, and while Arrows sounds more familiar, it's very upbeat sounding. What I've noticed is that both tracks sound very rich, there isn't a lot of dead space, there is a lot going on.