Review
Broken Social Scene
You Forgot It In People

It had been a long time since I'd heard an absolutely perfect pop record, until a few days back when I finally gave in to the hype surrounding Broken Social Scene and picked up the recent American release of this record. I can't believe I held off so long, because this record is just, well, simply fantastic. Thirteen tracks of experimental pop music being made by up to fifteen performers at a time, each song as effective as the one before it. More than anything else, the record possesses a wistful sort of teary-eyed melancholy that tugs on your heartstrings through the entire record, even on the more upbeat moments; the undercurrent is never so overpowering that it prevents the songs from connecting firmly in the part of your brain that feels the need to hum, yet still effective enough to lodge itself in your heart for far longer than the record runs. The band specializes in quick-paced guitar pop and ambient, stranger synth rock. The two openers, "Capture the Flag" and "KC Accidental," showcase both of these modes, with the former starting with a gentle feedback hum that crescendos in two minutes more effectively than anything Godspeed You Black Emperor has ever committed to tape, while the latter hits you from the front with a pummelling yet groovy drumbeat while the guitars chime and slide along before one of the catchiest vocal hooks I've ever heard. It's the center of the record where the album is best though, lodged in between the two best guitar pop songs on the record, "Almost Crimes" and "Cause = Time," where the more laid-back groove oriented material lies, as well as the strangely gorgeous "Anthems For a Seventeen Year-Old Girl," with its warped vocals, banjos, violins, and underplayed drumbeat. The nostalgia inspiring "Lover's Spit" and "I'm Still Your Fag" set up the record towards a high-point ending, which sadly lead into the only weak track on the record, "Pitter Patter Goes My Heart," which is basically a retread of things done better in "Capture the Flag" and "Anthems." Still, that one barely two-minute low point aside, there are 54 minutes of perfect pop bliss waiting to be uncovered here. Do yourself a favor and dive in headfirst.