The main difference between Gravity and the Toronto-based group’s previous efforts is the production: the album marks the first time that OLP has worked without Arnold Lanni, who produced many of the group’s best known tracks (including “Clumsy,” “Superman’s Dead” and “Starseed”).

Instead, the group, consisting of singer/guitarist Raine Maida, new guitarist Steve Mazur, bassist Duncan Coutts, and drummer Jeremy Taggart, has instead opted for producer Bob Rock (Metallica, Aerosmith). It was a good choice: the result is an album of ten not-too-short, not-too-long rock songs full of hooks and introspective yet anthemic lyrics.

Fortunately, unlike certain other rock singers (who rhyme with Blott Flap but shall remain otherwise nameless), OLP’s Maida has never aspired to commit his best Eddie Vedder impersonation to tape. Instead, on Gravity, he uses his distinctive vocals to the best sonic advantage and adds conviction to his delivery. The first single, “Somewhere Out There,” is proof of that, yet it also maintains a universal quality that’s so important to the success of a song: “I know you’ll come back someday / On a bed of nails I’ll wait / I’m praying that you don’t burn out / or fade away”

Despite an opening similar to another OLP song, “4am,” the highlight of Gravity is “Not Enough,” perhaps the heaviest track (both instrumentally and in its tone) the group has ever recorded. Crunching guitars, seemingly filled with rage and frustration, back Maida as he sings (and eventually screams), “What you want / What you lost / What you had / What is gone is over / What you’ve got / What you love / What you need is real / If it’s not enough / ...It’s not enough I’m sorry.”

OLP’s fondness for recording meaningful rock, however, contributes to some of the album’s shortcomings, particularly the children singing in the background of “Innocent.” Their repetition of the chorus “we are / we are all innocent” is a trick that’s been used far too often in pop music.

But even with a couple songs like “Innocent,” Gravity is a great album that doesn’t require use of your CD player’s skip button. It’s still a modern rock album, so longtime fans will be sated; and with new production accentuating their strengths rather than their eccentricities, OLP may even add to their following this time around.