*Note – this review is for the album only; For The Dividing Nights (enclosed EP) is not covered.
Without a doubt, Broken Social Scene is one of the best acts of the 2000s. They have an incredibly tight live act, and for my money, You Forgot It In People and their self titled Broken Social Scene are easily two of the top albums of the last ten years. When they broke up (or went on hiatus or whatever that was a few years ago), I was disappointed, but when Kevin Drew announced he was releasing a solo album, I was extremely interested, so I picked up his release, Spirit If… While I enjoy listening to Forgiveness Rock Record, it is much closer to the largely forgettable Spirit If… than Broken Social Scene or You Forgot It In People. Hit the jump to read the full review.
What I mean by that specifically is that Forgiveness Rock Record contains some absolutely wonderful songs, it contains some so-so songs, and it contains some songs that are honestly better off forgotten entirely. It comes nowhere close to the creative depth and breadth of You Forgt It In People, and never hits the pure groove that Broken Social Scene rides throughout.
If you have seen BSS at all over the last few years, you will recognize at least a couple of these songs as they have been touring them live for years. Texico Bitches and Meet Me In the Basement should sound familiar to all of you who have seen a concert of theirs since, say, 2008. They both make good live songs, and Texico Bitches is fairly catchy, if a bit silly, but never really hits on all chords, so to speak. Elements in the song are a little shoehorned and maybe it just doesn’t carry the energy that the live version has. Meet Me In The Basement, however, is a great instrumental track. Much in the same vein as Kevin Drew’s solo Farewell to the Pressure Kids, it is a track with pure driving energy that doesn’t really go on much of a journey, but that is kind of the point.
In addition to the somewhat middling tracks like Texico Bitches, there are Chase Scene and Forced to Love, but there are also spome missteps. Art House Director, with the exception of the loungey bridge, sounds contrived and really is not very good. As is Ungrateful Little Father, with the seemingly unnecessary sound elements that don’t recall their better days. Honestly, those tracks almost feel Frankenstein-like – very cobbled together. And not in a good way.
I know that all sounds really negative, but it really isn’t…this is just a band that I expect a whole lot more from, so even what I just referred to as the “middling tracks” are not bad songs per se…they just aren’t standout at all from today’s other good musical acts. So. Let’s get to the really good stuff on this album.
The album opens with the slow burning but steadily building World Sick, but it really strikes gold with All to All, the fifth track on the album. A very cool mix of almost new-wave sounding bass, synths and guitar with some spacey vocals, the combo simply works. Add in an extremely catchy refrain and this song is a winner. Another absolute home run (and female vocalized track) is Sentimental X’s. Somewhat similar in outright texture to All to All, it has an understated, breathless and driving background, beat-driven music that pairs so confidently and expertly with the vocals that it’s surprising that this song, and not Forced to Love, wasn’t released as the single. The song builds to a less of an effective conclusion, which is mostly the victim of some poorly thought out addition of horns at the end, but that is a minor, minor complaint. This song is made of win.
The back quarter of the record is kind of all over the place. Sweetest Kill is possibly the record’s strongest track, with its echoey and repetitive vibe, the slow groove begins and never breaks down. Romance to the Grave makes for a nice, standard BSS type song. It’s even keeled, chill and catchy. Water in Hell is a fun ensemble type song, even if it breaks down in a bizarre country-led (if kind of BSS sigature) way. The stupidest lyrics on the album are from the albm’s unfortunate closer: Me and My Hand. It really is exactly what you think it’s about (Kevin Drew and his, um, hand), yet the song brings no climax for the listener.
In short, I listened to this album about five more times than my usual minimum before I wrote this review. Most of the songs that stand out at first hold up very well; the songs that sound less than stellar at first blush never really improve, but the middling tracks kind of grow on you. Maybe. Overall, it’s nowhere near the level of the last two Broken Social Scene records but several of the tracks deserve heavy plays. When they get it right, Broken Social Scene can do spectacular things.
Daigle Rate: 72
Broken Social Scene – Sweetest Kill – From Forgiveness Rock Record (CD, Vinyl, MP3, iTunes)
Broken Social Scene – Sentimental X’s – From Forgiveness Rock Record (CD, Vinyl, MP3, iTunes)
