Curve

The Canada-bred and Los Angeles–based alt-rock group Our Lady Peace released its eighth studio album, Curve, three years after the also-independently released Burn Burn. Curve, though, travels further into electronically modified space. Hiring producer Jason Lader (Mars Volta, Rilo Kiley) to ensure that no guitar was left untreated, Our Lady Peace hit back with an album that takes U2's grand majesty and the richness of tone found in Radiohead's works and turns these elements into accessible, breast-beating hard rock. "If This Is It" sends countless guitars to grind and grunt while singer Raine Maida ponders with Bono-like intensity. "Fire in the Henhouse" adds orchestration and deeply embedded electronics to pursue its groove. "Window Seat" further colors a futuristic take on a spaghetti western. "As Fast as You Can" and "Heavyweight" ensure that the hooks don't get lost in the density of the album's production.