In the grand old musical tradition of being mould breaking by appearing to be of an old one, Broken Social Scene are a collective who since forming in Toronto in the late 90’s have preserved the idea of letting you guess what’s coming next. Not exactly dormant since the 2017 release of Hug Of Thunder, with founder member Kevin Drew at the helm, their sixth album arrives with what feels like an eon between it and it’s predecessor.
It’s a fact Drew is very much aware of, claiming a societal need for Remember The Humans in both form and meaning: “In 2026, you’re going to see a lot of resurgence of people going back to the roots of who they are, because things in their lifetime have gotten quite lost…We’ve let each other down, and I think it’s art that always tries to prevail, and tries to get us back on track.”
Bolstered by the return of Feist and early 00’s producer David Newfeld, the musical plot is neither out of keeping with the band’s past or open to the gimmicks of modernity; what Drew & friends do they do, and they do it well. With this manifesto in effect The Call, What Happens Now and Only The Good I Keep are all carriers of the torch, but it’s the pulsing synth pop of Relief which proves there’s hope of art prevailing yet. Mould breaking? no, but sometimes what we know can take us unexpectedly familiar places too.
Read a full review here.
The Voice Of Unreason 