You Forgot It In People

05/16/2003 5:00 PM, Yahoo! Music
Mike Lipton

Broken Social Scene is a rotating 10-member amalgam of Toronto music scene vets that recently picked up a Juno Award (Canada's equivalent of the Grammys) and earned rave reviews at this year's SXSW showcase in Austin. The band covers a lot of ground--not uncommon these days. But the unusual thing is BSS does it surprisingly well--with equal parts elegance ("I'm Still Your Fag" features an easy, lilting groove, intertwining melodies, a gentle melody, and a trombone solo) and muscle (the Joy Division/New Order-influenced "Stars And Sons" and "Cause = Time"). Add the exquisitely crafted garden pop of "Pacific Theme"; "Pitter Patter Goes My Heart," which augments a string quartet with percussion; and the wonderfully quirky "Anthem For A Seventeen Year Old Girl," which uses treated, childlike vocals to great effect, and the result is truly a band for all moods. Highly recommended.