Now that the band has managed to keep a consistent schedule of releases and touring for a decade, made an international name for itself and almost singe-handedly reignited interest in Canadian rock outside of domestic borders, it's safe enough to look on Broken Social Scene as an established brand unto itself. That being the case, it's also safe to ask how it happened that the group came into its position at the top of the Canadian New Rock heap.
It's funny, but it's actually difficult to tell. Broken Social Scene started out as a side-project and additional outlet for a directory of players in more established bands including The Stars, Metric, Raising The Fawn, Treble Charger, KC Additional, hHead and By Divine Right as well as a cadre of solo artists like Lesley Fiest, Jason Collett and Andrew Whiteman. Each of these (now institutions) had careers of their own, but Broken Social Scene was something else to do that filled down time between recording and touring and it was fun for the players involved, so it stuck around. Now, it might not be fashionable to say it, but each of those aforementioned primary projects that the members of BSS were associated with were actually stronger bands but, because it was an easy hype machine to fuel (“All these guys are in this one band? WOW!”), it took off and became a tastemaking entity quickly; even if the “solo” bands and projects were better in the beginning.
While those “solo” records continue to be very good, Forgiveness Rock Record marks the first instance when BSS has surpassed them all. The individual members of Broken Social Scene have really come together with a focussed view of the project as a band this time; it's not just fun anymore, everyone is together in where they want Forgiveness Rock Record to go. That doesn't mean the band has shucked all of the uniquely personal contributions and touchings that each member has brought into the record, just that they're all better integrated this time.
Listeners can mark the change in Broken Social Scene's approach from the moment “World Sick” fades in and bursts to life to open the record. It's incredible ho the unique sensibilities of each member factors in; there are obvious flecks of unusual percussive motifs inherent to Whiteman's Apostle Of Hustle, the sweet indie soul Brendan Canning exposed on Something For All Of Us, the mildly electronic rock of Kevin Drew's solo work and the rock trimmings of Collett and Crossingham. It's an enormous conglomeration, but it comes together so well and so easily that fans will be instantly satisfied and excited by what they're hearing.
And that's just the first song on the record.
The songs get stronger each time they grow more diverse from there. Throughout songs including “Art House Director,” “All to All,” “Sentimental X's,” and “Chase Scene,” Lesley Feist, Emily Haynes, Amy Millan, special guest and Pavement alumnus Spiral Stairs, Kevin Drew, Lisa Lobsinger, Andrew Whiteman and Brandon Canning all trade off on lead vocal turns but, surprisingly, listeners never get lost or confused by the changing dynamics and arrangements that come every time the band's make-up changes. The songs themselves seem to be universally accessible; everything rolls together smoothly and cleanly with a final effect that calls to mind both Bob Dylan's work with The Band and Sonic Youth all at once but isn't derivative either. It's an unlikely success on paper, but it is absolutely brilliant and a definitive exposition of the band's powers in practice.
Even as “Me and My Hand” closes out the record in delicate, aesthetically pristine tones, listeners will still be riding the adrenaline rush that hit them as soon as they realized that Broken Social Scene was riding clean and on all cylinders and be anxious for more. These fourteen songs are the strongest combined set (there aren't any that would be phenomenal, break-out singles, the album works best as a whole) that Broken Social Scene has ever assembled and released; it's a captivating process to listen to the band transition between different line-ups and arrangements but inspiring to witness them do it so fluidly. Simply said (and without meaning to gush), Forgiveness Rock Record is a revelation into the faculties of Broken Social Scene; here, the band is performing at a level that warrants the praise they've they've been so graciously afforded.
Artist:
www.brokensocialscene.ca/
www.myspace.com/brokensocialscene
Download:
Broken Social Scene – “World Sick” – Forgiveness Rock Record
Album:
Forgiveness Rock Record is out now. Buy it here on Amazon .
It has been contended and upheld by the band since they first appeared in 2000 that Broken Social Scene, as a group, is less a single artistic unit and more of a revolving-door artistic collective. In spite of those admissions, fans were confused when a BSS album centring out Kevin Drew appeared late last year and concerned that the band’s members might be going their separate ways. That wasn’t the case then and isn’t the case now either though. Both records are Broken Social Scene releases – each with the same core line-up of players as were featured on albums like You Forgot It In People and Broken Social Scene – and the only significant difference is which player is responsible for the songwriting.
But oh, what a difference that does make.
While Drew’s spotlight album had a distinctly electronic flavour and focused more on texture as well as fluidly shifting dynamics between constructed sounds capes and instrumentation that grew organically, with Canning at the helm Something For All Of Us… presents Broken Social Scene as seasoned alt-rockers.
From the very beginning, the slippery timbres of the title track simultaneously recalls Greg Dulli’s work with Twilight Singers and the portion of Sonic Youth’s output headed by Thurston Moore; it’s very melodic, but bears little resemblance to the Top 40 hit makers that slammed the world over the head with You Forgot It In People. The textural guitars and Canning’s vocal imply the melancholy of a man on the outside looking in, while the sprawling sonics supplied by a horn section suggest a very urbane but busy setting. It’s difficult to pin down exactly, but the title track alone implies that listeners are in for a genuine-article magnum opus.
…And that’s exactly what Something For All Of Us delivers.
After the sobering title track, Broken Social Scene immediately soars into the alt-rock stratosphere. Surrounded on all sides by imposing spires of strings, horns and keyboards, Broken Social Scene transcends any expectation that listeners may have had for them by taking the smallest and most delicate ballads (like “Snowballs & Icicles” for instance) and elevating them to thrilling and bombastic heights. It’s difficult to imagine a feat even possible but each time they attempt it (“Antique Bell” and “All The Best Wooden Toys Come From Germany” are other great examples of this), the band carries it off elegantly and leaving listeners elated in the process.
Broken Social Scene does equally well on the more up-tempo numbers like “Love Is New” (where they try on some INXS-esque reggae duds for fun) and “Possible Grenade” (that builds thematic tension to a boiling point before simply ending and leaving listeners to pick up the pieces themselves) to offer a complete portrait of what would be, for another band, simply a small facet of their sound. It’s an incredible thing to witness really, because listeners are essentially offered a totally different sound (again) by a familiar name with an established voice.
What Something For All Of Us illustrates is that there is no single, great songwriter in Broken Social Scene – there are many and each album is an exercise in shedding individual ego and playing for the songs as they come to the players; no matter what the source. That one writer is able to step up and take control is a testament to the band’s willingness to challenge both themselves and listeners. Something For All Of Us is the best album – until another one of the band members comes along to reset the bar in a different sound and style.
For more information, go to http://www.arts-crafts.ca/bss and http://www.myspace.com/brokensocialscene
