Canadian indie-rock collective Broken Social Scene’s atmospheric songscapes have something surprising to offer: songs. Most bands whose name is used in the same sentence as “atmospheric” are characterized by long meanderings of noise that never wind up going anywhere; noise for the sake of noise. But the 11 members that comprised the band’s constantly expanding/changing cast of characters when 2003’s “You Forgot It In People” was released had a direction for their noise. They avoid most use of electronic devices and focused on making their guitars, bass, organs, horns and vocals sound as strange as possible. Yet, through all this they still let traditional pop songs shine on like crazy diamonds, creating a gorgeous mess—an extremely updated model of old-fashioned pop. After what sounds like a warm up session, a fast and heavy drumbeat that wouldn’t be out of place on a Ramones album signals the beginning for the album’s best and loudest song, “Almost Crimes.” The amount of experimentation in song style and structure vary from song to song, creating a lush musical world that is home to, almost shockingly, well-crafted pop songs.—David Rogers
1 comment:
I'd say it's a great starter, everything after "Anthems for a seventeen-year old girl" seems to become repetitive, however. Still, the first few tracks are awesome, "KC Accidental" especially.
If you like these guys then I'd recommend you check out 'Viva Voce', similarly chilled for the most part with some ambient and atmospheric rock influences. A little more upbeat are 'Grandaddy', less diverse yet they still produce some awesome tunes.
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