Broken Social Scene materialized in 1999 when K.C. Accidental's Kevin Drew and Brendan Canning, formerly of By Divine Right, bonded their friendship into a band. They spent the next few years honing an atmospheric rock sound in their native Toronto and the dynamic was great. Feel Good Lost marked their debut album in 2001 and introduced a revolving cast of Canadian indie musicians. Drew's fellow mate from Do Make Say Think, Charles Spearin, was added to the band, as well as Evan Cranley (Stars), James Shaw, and Emily Haines (Metric). By the time their guitar-fueled sophomore effort, You Forgot It in People, was released in fall 2002, Broken Social Scene had become an 11-piece collective. Jason Collett, Andrew Whiteman, Justin Peroff, and Leslie Feist fulfilled the band's bombastic, orchestrated sound, and critics loved it. You Forgot It in People was a buzz among indie cohorts, and plans for a stateside release on Arts & Crafts was slated for the following summer. A surprise, however, coincided with those plans in spring 2003 when Broken Social Scene won a Juno for Alternative Album of the Year for You Forgot It in People.
In order to maintain praise from critics, the band issued its first ever B-sides and rarities collection, Bee Hives, in spring 2004. For the band's 2005 self-titled studio album, Broken Social Scene once again joined producer David Newfeld. Additional contributions by select members of Stars, Metric, Do Make Say Think, Raising the Fawn, the Dears, and others contributed to the ambitious sounds of Broken Social Scene. A joint North American tour with Feist followed its release. In 2007, Kevin Drew released the first installment in a series of "Broken Social Scene Presents" solo outings called Spirit If…, followed in 2008 by Brendan Canning’s Something for All of Us..., both of which featured appearances from nearly all the other members of the band. The group’s fifth full-length offering, Forgiveness Rock Record, arrived in May 2010.
MacKenzie Wilson
AllMusic.com
