 | | Broken Social Scene |
With such promise, it was something of a surprise that a few tracks into the set, the band’s offer to “play till we get thrown outta here” left a hefty dent in my will to live. How so? Quite simply, we were witnesses to the worst indulgences of music by committee: a musical broth with too many ingredients - and cooks for that matter. BSS have talent that’s getting lost in the numbers. Polite, nice and unassuming, you can imagine that they’ve reached this point by because no one wants to hurt anyone else’s feelings by saying ‘No, enough guitars already!’ Also, by the band’s own admission, the latest album lacks focus, and given this realisation, it was unfortunate they didn’t use this insight to keep things tight on stage. The plentiful grungier moments felt like watching an imploding jamming session of badly drawn boys, with no audible tune to follow. The very welcome highlights were all from their second and best album, but this was still a long way from warranting a comparison with compatriots The Arcade Fire. Where the Arcade Fire exude passion, charisma, tunes, energy, verve, stage presence and give one of the best live experiences to be had, BSS are a raggle-taggle bunch lacking cohesion, direction and tunes. There is undoubted talent within the band, but remember: less is more! Until someone can take the initiative and implement some urgent Stalinist reforms into the collective mess, the band won’t deliver on the peak of their decent second album and progress to reach their potential on disc or on stage.
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