Broken Social Scene brought their indie-collective sound to
the wider world, and they're still doing it best.Forgiveness Rock Record
somehow manages to be what you've loved about BSS for years now, but without
feeling like a retread or a shadow.Weightier than their most recent releases, but more compact than the
ones before that, Forgiveness
needs none.
Five-plus years ago, the ‘Canadian Invasion’ swept into
indie-rock, led by the bilingual heads of Toronto's Broken Social Scene (QRO
spotlight on) and Montreal's Arcade Fire (QRO
live review), ushering not just Canadian
music, but the collective style southward (perhaps the Canadian west was led by
The New Pornographers - QRO live review).Yet ever since, like
with Arcade Fire's Funeral, BSS have always had the shadow of
breakthrough You Forgot It In People to
contend with.Arcade Fire followed
up with the shadowed Neon Bible (QRO
review), and then disappeared; but after BSS's own 2005 self-titled
follow-up, the band went a more disparate direction, as various members spun
off or joined on.Frontman Kevin
Drew released Broken Social Scene Presents: Kevin Drew's Spirit If... (QRO review) in 2007, which one
couldn't quite place as either a solo record of just BSS with some added words
to the title.Almost as if to
prove that ‘Broken Social Scene Presents: Kevin Drew’ wasn't a redundant name, the following year saw Broken
Social Scene Presents: Brendan Canning's Something For All of Us... (QRO review), focused on
singer/bassist Brendan Canning (QRO interview), but only so much.Meanwhile, guitarist Jason Collett (QRO interview) returned to his solo career, guitarist Andrew
Whiteman (QRO interview) spent
some time on his own project, Apostle of Hustle (QRO spotlight on), multi-instrumentalist Charles Spearin (QRO
interview) worked both in the post-rock Do
Make Say Think and his own unique solo experiment, last year's The Happiness
Project (QRO review).But the only ones to really shine
brighter than You Forgot were guest female vocalists like Leslie
Feist (QRO live review), Emily Haines
(of Metric - QRO live review)
and Amy Millan (of Stars - QRO live review).Where exactly was
Broken Social Scene headed?
But who says they need to go somewhere new?BSS helped introduce the collective,
which has since become as ubiquitous in indie music as Canada, and still do it
best.After the twin Presents records, the band has returned to ‘just’ Broken
Social Scene, and have shed a number of the extra/part-time members for a
collective ‘core’ in Drew, Canning, Whiteman, Spearin, drummer Justin Peroff
and guitarist/bassist Sam Goldberg (still retain the rotating female vocalist
spot, on tour currently filled by Lisa Lobsinger).They even left longtime producer Dave Newfeld to work with
John McEntire (of Tortoise, The Sea & Cake).Forgiveness Rock Record is undeniably a Broken Social Scene endeavor, yet they're undeniably
the best at it.
Opener/single "World Sick" mixes restrained, atmospheric and
groovy portions with builds/booms into something bigger, yet evokes in both
small and large.The bigger pieces
are naturally the more memorable ones, whether the more ‘traditional’ BSS
collective such as "Forced To Love" (you can easily visualize Whiteman doing
his back-up vocals, with his signature hand movements), the pressing &
ominous road "Chase Scene", or Canning-sung epic relax "Water In Hell".But the collective heart & complex
pop of "Texico Bitches" fits in perfectly with the somewhat softer songs of
BSS, and there a number of restrained washes, like the sad loss of "Sweetest
Kill", airy "All To All", and females-led "Sentimental X's" - where Feist,
Haines & Millan sing together for the first time ever (any connection
between the title & the ladies' possible romantic pasts - or futures - with
the BSS fellas is left up to more prying eyes).
Some of those washes wash together, like "Romance To the
Grave", instrumental "Meet Me In the Basement" and too-slow closer "Me & My
Hand".And the upbeat with a touch
of lo-fi "Art House Director" and "Ungrateful Little Father" could stand a bit
more complexity, especially when laid against BSS's ability to be intricate,
yet catchy.And nothing on Forgiveness
can quite match the anthemistic excellence
of early songs such as "Almost Crimes" and "7/4 (Shoreline)".
But these are minor quibbles with an excellent record.How have Broken Social Scene been able
to do it?How have they been able
to craft a sound that is original without being out there, evocative without
over-emotional, epic without out-and-out grandeur, soft and loud at the same
time?And how have they been able
to repeat it without being repetitive?Just another Broken Social Scene Rock Record...
Broken Social Scene brought their indie-collective sound to
the wider world, and they're still doing it best.
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