After 1,165 days of recording and 45 tracks produced, the 13-song final cut for Healthy In Paranoid Times by Our Lady Peace was ready for the public in August. This is distinctly album number six, not just an extension of any prior release. It’s a fresh take, and that’s exactly what the guys were striving for.

“We took time to listen to music, reflect on music and put perspective into our songs,” said drummer Jeremy Taggart. “We really didn’t take any time off.”

A jazz drummer, Taggart joined the post-grunge band in 1993, just in time to record its first album in 1994 with Relativity. Vocalist Raine Maida met guitarist Mike Turner while studying at the University of Toronto in 1992. Our Lady Peace later recruited bassist Chris Eacrett.

Now this native Canadian band is taking the fruits of its three-year labor everywhere from Boston to Texas. Some compare their gritty rock to Foo Fighters, Live or Third Eye Blind, but the band members wouldn’t know how to make a comparison.

“There is really no market to measure it against,” said Taggart as he explained the new album. “There is a point where you get sick of trying to keep up with the fads to go against them.”

About five years ago the band attracted the attention of critics with the release of their fifth album, Gravity. Criticisms such as “overproduced” and “too mainstream” came from the press. According to the band, this was not the case.

Instead, the band members focus on their own experiences and the insights they’ve gained in the three years of recording.

“We like to kind of make a plastic bubble and just make music,” said Taggart. “We’ve never felt we were going more mainstream.”

During the recording of their new album, there were some trying times. The band was really trying to dig deeper than they had before, and there was tension.

“Respect is what keeps a band together,” said Taggart. “We’ve toured with bands that have broken up while on the road. It’s a really weird thing to witness the destruction of a band. You have to keep that respect.”

The band has enjoyed the Kent bar scene before. In fact they may have partaken a shot or two on students’ home turf.

“If I were buying the rounds, it would have to be 11-drop vodka for the shot and scotch on the rocks,” said Taggart.

Contact ALL reporter Carissa Bowlin at [email protected].