Broken Social Scene

Boasting a who’s who of Toronto iconoclasts, Canadian collective Broken Social Scene has provided some of the most intimate and unbridled indie-rock moments of the 21st century. Over the years, their sound has been as fluid as their lineup, but in 1999, they began as just two: singers/songwriters/multi-instrumentalists Kevin Drew and Brendan Canning. On their 2001 debut, Feel Good Lost, the duo had some help from friends to flesh out their mostly instrumental, post-rock arrangements. But those ambient experiments served as ideal templates to build from, as local artists like Feist and members of bands including Stars, Do Make Say Think, and Metric jumped in to create BSS’ breakthrough release, 2002’s You Forgot It In People. The Juno Award-winning collection fluctuates between blistering baroque rock and blissful dream pop—a grandiose sum of all 15 members involved. It was also the first release on Arts & Crafts, a now thriving independent label and artist management company cofounded by Drew. As the group expanded, they grew looser, louder, and more uninhibited on 2005’s self-titled release, before reining in that noise (just a bit) on 2010’s Forgiveness Rock Record, an album that highlights their inherent romanticism and post-rock roots. After a seven-year recording break, the group proved they hadn’t missed a beat with 2017’s Hug of Thunder, another ambitious indie manifesto filled with rousing anthems steeped in BSS’ uplifting yet defiant spirit.