Raine Maida
The Hunter's Lullaby
(King Noise/Nettwerk)
First Appeared in The Music Box, February 2010, Volume 17, #2
Written by John Metzger
Mon February 15, 2010, 06:30 AM CST
Raine Maida’s full-length, solo debut The Hunter’s Lullaby is sure to surprise anyone who has followed his career with Our Lady Peace. Instead of straightforward, alt-rock anthems, Maida has penned songs that cross Radiohead’s experimental tendencies with The Hold Steady’s urban poetry. In addition, he also laces several tracks with engaging, hip-hop-inspired grooves. Although the endeavor initially might pose a challenge to some, it also is impossible to turn away from Maida’s captivating presence. For a guy who was getting bored with his business-as-usual routine, he certainly has found a way to become reinvested in his art.
Maida is no stranger to crafting ambitious, conceptual albums. Throughout The Hunter’s Lullaby, he expands upon many of the themes and ideas that he previously outlined with Our Lady Peace. This time, however, his approach is far more focused, and he props up his words with edgy music that reaches equally far and wide. During the jittery refrains of Rat Race — which, perhaps, comes the closest to Radiohead’s paranoid nervousness — Maida paints the almighty dollar as the new religion, and the larger context of the endeavor allows him to use the tune to draw comparisons between the work-to-buy mentality and personal compulsiveness. On Earthless, he weaves a tale of a young girl’s search for greater meaning, while on China Doll, he underscores how money has corrupted democratic principles.
In effect, The Hunter’s Lullaby not only is a dissertation on how
consumerism has robbed youth culture of its identity, but it also explores the
notion that the subversion of adolescent rebellion is what has thrown society’s
balance off-kilter. Tucked within nearly every track is a plea for
nonconformists to rise up and save the Western world from its increasingly
soulless existence. This is a valiant argument to make, and Maida sells it with
his urgency. Without a doubt, The Hunter’s Lullaby marks a new direction
for him to take in framing his dialogue, but considering how convincingly he
delivers the material, it also is one to which he is well suited. 
Of Further Interest...
Green Day - 21st Century Breakdown
The Hunter's Lullaby is available from Barnes & Noble.
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Ratings
1 Star: Pitiful
2 Stars: Listenable
3 Stars: Respectable
4 Stars: Excellent
5 Stars: Can't Live Without It!!
Copyright © 2010 The Music Box