Broken Social Scene - Broken Social Scene
Released Oct. 4, 2005
on Arts & Crafts
Broken Social Scene credits 17 musicians on its self-titled third album. That’s not including the four guests.
The combined sounds they produce are just as colossal, which can be the album’s best or worst attribute. It depends who you ask.
Despite high expectations following 2002’s acclaimed You Forgot It In People, the band refused to include single-worthy material. The album steers clear of any typical pop song structure, and the vocals often get buried in the mix.
Singer/guitarist Kevin Drew told MTV News, “Singles don’t really exist for our band; we don’t live in that world.”
Some will find the songs too busy. The New York Times said, “Broken Social Scene confuses integrity with indulgence, burying good songs under way too much studio tomfoolery.”
But the BSS Collective isn’t aiming at accessibility, and I think that the self-indulgence works.
Drew described the album as an “ethereal, distorted garage-pop record,” adding that “people are gonna (sic) think their speakers are busted.”
The songs swirl and burst. From the more delicate moments to the life-affirming crescendos, the densely layered songs sound best loud and in surround sound.