Broken Social Scene – Forgiveness Rock Record
[Arts & Crafts, 2010]
It’s so much harder to write about the music that you love the most. My love for the Canadian indie rock band Broken Social Scene has crossed with love for its separate members (Feist, Emily Haines of Metric, Kevin Drew, Brendan Canning) – and it’s a numerous cast. At times, this affection causes stupored on-repeat listens not only with albums, but with one or two tracks. This is what happened (again) with the new album, released after five years of (relevant) silence, Forgiveness Rock Record. I’ve been listening to it for hours, but was it hard to write! To catch, what exactly in the music gets in full sync with your inner state.
The album leaks into your reality slowly and stealthily. Fades out of ambiance. Rolls out its rhythms, and in a minute of two of the opening track, a terrific World Sick, evolves in all its beauty. And brings noise-noise-noise. Broken Social Scene feels like a bunch of friends around out. Not a paranoid crowd, but your people.
The general theme of forgiveness is in the title for a reason – it’s a total forgiveness of everyone in general and each in particular, from people you know to the infamous hate objects. Texico Bitches is a true bitching addressing oil tycoons, and at the same time one of the lightest and most memorable songs on the album. Probably, also because the word ‘bitches’ appears there on a very regular basis. Forced To Love is pushy and dense. Sentimental X’s – foggy and truly sentimental, along with signature rhythm moving forward. All To All – again, gradually growing intensity, this time not with noise pressure, but with Lisa Lobsinger’s sweet vocals (she mostly toured with BSS) and a charming melody. One of the beauties of the album.
Forgiveness Rock Record is definitely not a come-off album, with a couple of hits and the rest indistinct. Every song has its individuality, and in general there’s a common style not only of the release, but in the whole Broken Social Scene music. This music is like a vine, it can be wedded into any day and any mood. It can go with a weekend (or workday) morning, in work process, in a trip, in a tender night… I still haven’t found a mood where the album would not fit. If you want an atmosphere of friendliness and a bit of recklessness – this is it. Noisy at times, but generally relaxing and energizing at the same time.
Read & Listen:
Broken Social Scene website
Myspace
Pitchfork interview
