Broken Social Scene - Forgiveness Rock Record

Sound-a-likes: The National, Male Bonding, Metric
Forgiveness Rock Record is a confusing album. Some songs try hard to be more like straight-forward mainstream rock songs, such as Meet Me in the Basement or Water in Hell. Most sound like unfinished ideas and mediocre melodies that they either stretched out over 5-7 minutes like Sweetest Kill or Ungrateful Little Father, or made faster, like Chase Scene or Sentimental X's (which shouldn't have an apostrophe). None of the songs blend together as well as on their previous albums, and some end up sounding more mainstream and unoriginal, so I guess that's the biggest disappointment.

There are a few high points to this album, for example the upbeat and catchy Forced to Love, the smooth yet provoking World Sick (which has some great guitar licks), and most of all All to All, which effortlessly blends rapid beats with the smooth vocals of Lisa Lobsinger. Romance to the Grave, Texico Bitches, and Highway Slipper Jam are up there too. But despite their efforts, no song manages to match the perfection of 7/4 (Shoreline), Stars & Sons, or Lover's Spit.

In general, this album makes me a little disappointed. More specifically, about 7 out of 14 songs disappointed.



-Julian