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Product details
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Track Listings
| 1. Capture The Flag |
| 2. KC Accidental |
| 3. Stars And Sons |
| 4. Almost Crimes (Radio Kills Remix) |
| 5. Looks Just Like The Sun |
| 6. Pacific Theme |
| 7. Anthems For a Seventeen Year-Old Girl |
| 8. Cause = Time |
| 9. Late Nineties Bedroom Rock For The Missionaries |
| 10. Shampoo Suicide |
| 11. Lover's Spit |
| 12. I'm Still Your Fag |
| 13. Pitter Patter Goes My Heart |
Product Description
Review
Toronto is no exception and while it certainly has had some rather...shall we say, interesting moments, the local indie scene is as powerful as ever and its new leaders are without a doubt Broken Social Scene.
Hailing from all the Toronto area, the band has its origins in an experimental indie project called KC Accidental which saw two releases on the excellent Noise Factory Label. Founder members Kevin Drew and Charles Spearin then formed Broken Social Scene which moved to more abstract territory.
After a few gigs in the Toronto area, they attracted the attention of musicians from fellow local bands like Do Make Say Think, A Silver Mt. Zion and before you knew it - a Canadian tour de force was born. This second release from the collective sees a slight change in the overall sound and direction of the project.
Where the band before created ambient oriented instrumental indie rock, You Forgot It In People sees a progression to 'proper' songwriting with a more defined verse/chorus/verse style. The new sound encompasses all the experimentation and looseness of their previous releases but takes it to an entirely wonderful new dimension.
Imagine Godspeed You! Black Emperor actually writing coherent pop songs or if Sebadoh decided to jam with about 20 other musicians from labels such as Sub Pop, Kranky and Thrill Jockey on some prog rock covers. But...you can imagine this almost on Top 40 radio. It's that good.
The CD begins with "Capture The Flag", a gorgeous blend of guitar and trumpet based ambience and then kicks in to the aptly titled "KC Accidental," a wonderful uptempo experiment in almost indie noise and it doesn't let up from there.
It ebbs and flows with gracious highs and awe-inspiring lows, twisting and turning with alternating male and female vocals, drum machine fills, banjos and even glitchy CD samples. The band refuse to let go of their delicate song structures and beautiful hooks no matter how many layers they decide to throw on, or which of the four guitarists happens to switch instruments mid-song.
As with most great things, Broken Social Scene have come around almost by accident and releases this good usually signify an imminent split (remember MBV's Loveless, anyone?). So far, the band have done a handful of shows in North America where they have been lauded with almost fanatical praise and a dedicated following to boot. Make no mistake, this is THE band of 2003 to watch and if you enjoyed their previous material, this will simply blow you away.
Get it now, before all the attention disturbs the pristine beauty of this wonderfully remarkable project and the band break up, becoming nothing more than a distant memory of better times. Absolutely, utterly essential. --Olli Siebelt
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Customer Reviews
A massive supergroup made up of members of various post-rock/experimental bands like the extraordinary Do Make Say Think and A Silver Mt. Zion, Broken Social Scene are a sensation. This, their second album (and very different from their instrumental first one), is made up of 13 tracks, none of which sounds like the one before it.
This album is bursting with ideas and inspiration, starting with the ambient noodling of 'Capture the Flag', then bursting into the rocking second track 'KC Accidental'. 'Star and Sons', which is next, is simply a fantastic experimental pop song, with a really catchy and uplifting riff.
In fact, what makes the many different styles coalesce into feeling like a proper album is this hands-in-the-air uplift that so many of the songs provide. Another favourite is 'Pacific Theme', which is like the best Do Make Say Think track, only more much more joyful and happy sounding.
'Anthems for a Seventeen Year Old Girl' is also exceptional; filtering a simple, repeated female vocal in a completely charming and endearing way. Fantastic pop music in the best sense - but with an experimental edge.
With this variety in mind, I'm tempted to say that there is something for everyone here - but realistically, not everybody is going to get as much out of this as I have. I don't think this is a perfect album, for all its eclecticism I think it ends a bit unsatisfactorily, and the first half is probably a bit better than the second. But if you enjoy experimental styles, but also know when to recognise great catchy songs when you hear them, then look no further - there's still time to be in on it before everyone else.
For this second album, BSS extended from a duo to a ten-piece "official ensemble", with a further 15 or so 'guests' on various tracks. While that debut was a largely ambient affair, this covers everything. There's Tortoisey undertones on 'Pacific Theme', brushed-snare folkiness on 'I'm Still Your Fag' and string-swells on...well...everything.
The first part of the album is the more energetic - opener proper 'KC Accidental' repeats the same 8 bars with ever crazier climaxes until a brief vocal section leads into a few more goes at it. 'Stars and Sons' lopes on a motorik drum groove with barely-there vocals and FZ giving way to a feedback freakout, one of the album highlights. The first real release comes with 'Anthems to a Seventeen Year-Old Girl', whose sparse banjo-pluckings and ultra-treated vocals carry a beautiful theme into indie legend. Then it's time for standout track 'Cause = Time', which draws together all the elements for a searing, oblique social satire.
After that, the pace slows - a couple of weaker tracks meander too much for their own good. "I'm Still Your Fag" rescues things nicely, with subdued horns and guitars carrying the tragic ballad through to "Pitter Patter..." a refrain of Anthems which closes the record.
Apart from the saggy slow-mo cuts towards the end, this is an unblemished masterpiece - and frankly, I've forgiven greater sins to other bands. Buy. Right. Freakin'. Now.
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