You know how there is always one band that everyone says "You should totally check this band out man; they rock harder than Ron Jeremy's cock at the office!" and you go, "Yeah sure man, I'll check them out if you say they are that good." And you never do! Well that's pretty much my relationship with the Broken Social Scene summed up in an awfully convoluted way.
I bought this album because lots of people were saying that the band was great, the album was great and that I'd love them. It was a total whim of a purchase - I was standing in my local record store and this funky cover caught my attention. Then BAM! The next thing I know I'm putting this CD in my player and popping my Broken Social Scene cherry.
Broken Social Scene is one heck of an epic, loud and often an intense listen. The first thing that catches you ear is for a band so huge they seem very focused and seem to know where each song is going even if the message seems lost in what can only be described as a wall of sound. Nowhere is this more prevalent than "7/4 (Shoreline)" which, rather ironically with the title, seems to wash over you and leave you dazed and disorientated before you know what's hit you. Sadly this means that a great drum performance quickly gets lost in the mess of noise that overwhelms the track much too quickly. This is counter pointed so well by "Major Label Debut," which is much more intimate and welcoming whilst still retaining that noisy feel that is always in the background somewhere.
It's all very good and fun and you really do understand why the band have become such cult favorites especially with songs as fun as "Windsurfing Nation," which had me squawking along to the chorus without even knowing what the bloody hell they are singing. "Handjobs for the Holiday" is possibly my favorite song title of 2005, made all the better by it being a fantastic song that had me nodding my head in approval all the way through.
Yet without realizing it the album suffers from a major problem, as most of it is lost up in the wall of sound sometimes whole songs can pass you by without you having a clue that you missed them. It gets frustrating when you have to skip back a couple of tracks because you've got lost somehow. I'm sure at least three or four songs just blended into each other and I spent at least four attempts to figure out which song was which, though I'm still unsure that I have it figured yet.
I'd highly recommend you check out the limited edition copy, it comes with the great bonus EP To Be You and Me which includes a fast version of "Major Label Debut" amongst other gems.
Broken Social Scene is a good album, how good it is compared to the band's previous output I couldn't say. I know that people rave about how good You Forgot it in People is and having listened to it's follow up I'm pretty sure that even if Broken Social Scene isn't held in as high regard by everyone that certainly doesn't make it any less of an album.
