#BROKEN SOCIAL SCENE HUG OF THUNDER FULL#

In fact, nothing on the album is unrecognizable most tracks are at least subtly evocative another in the band’s oeuvre, but the album as a whole still feels refreshing and new.Įach song is a standout on its own terms there is no weakness here.

“Halfway Home,” the album’s first full track after short instrumental opener “Sol Luna,” is immediately reminiscent of their heyday, with the euphoric, grandiose swells of “You Forget It In People.” Immediately, the listener knows that BSS is back, in all of their glory. Even among the band’s resident powerhouse sirens Feist and Haines, Engle’s voice finds its own comfortable niche there’s always room for new textures in Broken Social Scene. Hug of Thunder also marks the debut of a new female vocalist, Ariel Engle of Montreal based AroarA. On Hug of Thunder, every member of the band has channeled the best of their individual experiences and talents into an incredibly congruous and compelling sound. Now, Broken Social Scene feels like a bona-fide supergroup, but the effect isn’t disjointed in the least. While many of its its breakout stars - including Leslie Feist, Kevin Drew, Emily Haines, Brendan Canning, and Jason Collett - were active before Broken Social Scene originated, they continued their respective projects in the band’s hiatus, rising in fame on their own terms. Their long-awaited fifth album is so momentous that it makes sense that it was named after one of the most powerful forces of nature: as band member Brendan Canning says, “It’s just such a wonderful sentiment about us, coming in like a hug of thunder.”īroken Social Scene pulls out all stops for Hug of Thunder, reuniting all 15 original members of the band. Since then, indie rock has veered on the side of minimalism – but then again, who does maximalism as well as Broken Social Scene? Is there a band quite as fearless and boundless? Broken Social Scene were a titan of that era, and their absence since 2010’s Forgiveness Rock Record has been palpable. However, it's the wordy, Feist-delivered title cut, a master class in balancing mood and melody, that delivers the album's finest moments, and the best distillation of what makes BSS so venerable.The 00s indie rock scene was a true golden age. They dial it back a bit on the dreamy, Drew-led 'Skyline,' a lush, midnight highway-ready affair that evokes the easy, classic rock vibe of the War on Drugs, but 'Vanity Pail Kids' turns the power back on with a knotty, all-hands-on-deck electro-disco party that sees all three lead vocalists representing. Forgoing some of the elongated, atmosphere-driven instrumentals that peppered prior outings (wordless opener 'Sol Luna' clocks in at just over a minute), things escalate quickly with co-openers 'Halfway Home' and 'Protest Song,' two of the punchiest things the band has offered up in years.

The shambolic, post-rock kissing cousins to fellow veteran Canadian pop army New Pornographers, Broken Social Scene's aural emissions may be less confectionary, but they're no less immediate. Leslie Feist, Emily Haines, and Kevin Drew may serve as the group's ambassadors, but BSS are a ship requiring the whole crew to stay afloat, and Hug of Thunder is buoyant with inclusiveness and cautious hope.

A dense, soul-searching blast of civic-minded indie rock/alt-pop comfort food, the 12-track set is mired in the cultural and political miasma of its time, but Broken Social Scene have always been about community - Kevin Drew has suggested in interviews that the 2015 terror attacks in Paris served as the impetus for the band's reconvening. The fifth full-length outing from the substantial Toronto collective - this iteration is 15 strong - the aptly named Hug of Thunder is the band's long-awaited follow-up to 2010's Forgiveness Rock Record.

#BROKEN SOCIAL SCENE HUG OF THUNDER FULL#

Broken social scene hug of thunder