Music this week

Broken Social Scene,a Canadian collective that borrows musicians from various groups and solo projects,can,frustratingly,be a circus at times and a symphony at others. This bipolar character comes out more in the bands fourth album,Forgiveness Rock Record,than in its previous,more agreeable,self-titled album,Broken Social Scene. The 2005 album had some semblance of uniformity,which the latest doesnt have. But there is some improvement: the new album doesnt have the thirds mumbling vocals.

Forgiveness Rock Record has flashes of brilliance. The band employs a variety of instruments and multiple lead singers that work beautifully at times. Me and My Hand is like a dream and Sweetest Kill has charming vocals that could be sung to a high-school sweetheart who is now old and cynical. But Ungrateful Little Father is a bit too chirpy for its dark lines and Highway Slipper Jam is unnecessarily indulgent and just a bad production. Forgiveness Rock Record is good though it didnt fully meet my expectations.

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