Broken Social Scene, “Broken Social Scene”: In 2002, two years before Internet buzz and word of mouth propelled Canadian indie poppers The Arcade Fire into the world’s iPods, fellow Canadians Broken Social Scene quietly released “You Forgot It In People,” one of the year’s most critically acclaimed pop records.
This year Broken Social Scene has released its first full-length studio album since “You Forgot it in People” and the self-titled album finds the band exploring densely composed pop. The seventeen-piece band, led by Kevin Drew and Brendan Canning, includes members from Stars, Do Make Say Think, The Dears and Feist.
It’s easy to get lost in any one of the album’s 14 tracks; the music often swells and transforms itself during the duration of a song. “7/4 (Shoreline)” starts as a breezy indie pop song then changes itself into a triumphant, driving musical force.
The album’s centerpiece “Windsurfing Nation,” a warm up that bursts into a song, is followed by the deceptively simple “Swimmers,” which is a sultry ballad.
Each track on the album is so packed with music that it is impossible to take in the whole album in one listen. Each listen will help to reveal the depth and beauty that the album contains. Not to say that the album is perfect; some tracks fell a little long and sometimes there is too much to take in at once.
Fans of Broken Social Scene may feel that “Broken Social Scene” is not as ambitious as “You Forgot it in People,” and I would agree with them. But “Broken Social Scene” is easily the band’s most accessible album. Check it out.
-Andrew McCollum