Live — Birds Of Pray

When Thom Yorke sang "No alarms and no surprises, please" on OK Computer, he probably wasn’t referring to Live’s musical career, but it’s an apt observation nonetheless. Ed Kowalczyk and company have mastered the art of conformist consistency on their sixth album, Birds Of Pray. If you rocked out to Throwing Copper in ‘94, it’s safe to assume you’ll like Birds Of Pray for its grandiose sweep, overt spiritual bent and Kowalczyk’s earnest crooning. Ultimately, however, songs like "The Sanctity Of Dreams" and "What Are We Fighting For?" are well-intentioned but overwrought and, as a whole, solidify Live’s status as the unthinking man’s rock band.

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