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Canadian collective’s latest is just too much
The last time I saw Broken Social Scene live, in November 2008, what struck me most about the loosely arranged collective’s sound was how jammy it had become. Previously taut three-minute rock songs unspooled into meandering epics, to sometimes-exhilarating and sometimes-exhausting results. Two years later, the band has given this frustrating sound a name: Forgiveness Rock Record.
Whereas BSS’ two previous albums indulge the group’s pop sensibilities while showcasing its knack for rock anthems, Forgiveness cremates and scatters these strengths over an intimidating and overwrought runtime. For every driving, vibrant track (“Forced to Love” and the aptly named “Chase Scene”), the band forces others that are ponderous at best (“All to All”) and pointless at worst (“Highway Slipper Jam”). Perhaps Tortoise’s John McEntire, who co-produced Forgiveness, imbued his noodling post-rock tendencies on a group that was already itching to stretch out; perhaps BSS just needs to reign it in. Regardless, brace yourself for how this record will translate live—we’re in for some slow jams.
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I realize that the Phish reference was made in the tweet, not the actual post, but this review seems to assume that the reader thinks Phish or "jammy" means inherently bad. The negative aspects of this review have actually made me MORE interested in this album.
Agreed with Richie. Good use of Twitter to pull in traffic, and then not reference Phish at all. Likewise, just because, 'jammy' isn't your thing, doesn't mean that it doesn't appeal to others. Come to think of it...lots of others. For quite some time now. Hmmm.
The more chaotic this band's sound becomes, the more I love it. I found this album to be more like a big party than a breakdown of style.
This is hardly a "jammy" album. Rather, all but one of its songs are tightly-orchestrated triumphs of disciplined group effort. Someone who appreciates layered, nuanced, dynamic music ought to write a second review of the Forgiveness Rock Record as a counterargument to this critic's lackadaisical blow-off.
I think this reviewer needs to go back into his BSS catalogue and rethink calling THIS album jammy and indulgent after the practically unedited self-titled. I love that album, but "meandering" is generous at points. FRR, by almost all critical accounts except Paste's, is the sound of this band stripped down, for better or worse. Think you're on the wrong page here, buddy.
Previous posters DallasJones and Lauren nailed it. If anything, I think this album fits into BSS's catalog very well and is hardly a departure. I'm sure the reviewer was simply time crunched and mailed in the review, but I believe printing it is an incredible disservice to Paste readers, who may miss one of the best albums of the year. The review sent me directly to P4K to make sure I'm not losing it. P4K spent some effort and got it right.
This is my favorite BSS album yet ... I feel like the term "accessible" applies here more than to any of their other records (a lack of discordant guitar notes was a welcome surprise). Forgiveness Rock Record will likely end up in my top 10 at year's end.
LOVE this album.. especially "Sweetest Kill"