Our Lady Peace Spiritual Machines II LP

Multi-platinum alt-rock band Our Lady Peace releases the sequel to their critically acclaimed 2000 album Spiritual Machines, a record which has become a pillar of early 2000s alt rock and a prime example of the band's creative brilliance. Spiritual Machines II serves as the answer to the 2000 LP which was influenced by inventor and futurist Ray Kurzweil's book The Age Of The Spiritual Machines and marks an uplifting new chapter for OLP, carving out a new genre that is best described as future rock, with each song crafted to represent the new predictions for our future as a society.

"I wasn't sure OLP was capable of this album," stated frontman Raine Maida. "I definitely wanted to make an album like this but knew the stars would have to come together to get even close. Those stars came in the form of Dave Sitek and a pandemic. Dave was our guide on this rhythm-based, sonic experiment & the lockdown allowed us to take our time, and not force anything."

Produced by TV On The Radio's Dave Sitek (Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs, Weezer) with additional production by Jason Lader on three tracks, the album features the return of Kurzweil with new predictions such as near-future with UBI (Universal Basic Income), AI that will pass the Turing Test by 2029, and sustainable solutions to ending global hunger and poverty. Spiritual Machines II includes track "Stop Making Stupid People Famous", featuring Nadya Tolokno of the iconoclastic feminist Russian group Pussy Riot, serving as a reflection on society's preoccupation with celebrity influencer culture.

Other album highlights include the ironic feel-good of "Future Disease" and "Holes", a sister song to early OLP classic "Superman's Dead" that uses a descending single-note guitar synth riff to make us feel like we're sinking into life's darkness. "19 Days" asks: How do we heal, and has technology hurt or helped us in that repair? Album closer "Temporary Healing" gives an answer: No matter how hard it is, we must honor that journey to heal. "Run" reminds us of the very human contradiction of escape, to flight or fight, while "Simulation" shows us the technological contradiction of progress.

The first Spiritual Machines wasn't a typical mainstream rock record, it had anthemic guitar hooks next to literal predictive modelings addressing a future dependent on AI and the legal rights of computers. "Twenty years later, Spiritual Machines predictions have mostly come true, 86% to be exact," said Maida. "Now, new predictions must be made for the future - and with groundbreaking advances in technology, there's reason to celebrate."