It’s difficult to classify the music of Broken Social Scene, in part because it’s more of a collective than a band – they currently have a rotating “official” roster of 19 members, though some of these are more involved with the songwriting and recording end of things (their live line-up is a much more modest number, most of the time).  

The band began with two members, Kevin Drew and Brendon Canning, recording and performing ambient instrumental numbers.  Not long after, they hooked up with a number of Toronto’s rising musical stars (the collective is Canadian), and recorded the Juno-award winning “You Forgot it in People.”

Subsequent touring and the placement of songs on TV shows such as Nip/Tuck and The L Word helped propel them into international circles.  After helping launch the solo career of bandmember/collaborator Leslie Feist, they recorded the eponymous album “Broken Social Scene,” which featured another rotation of musicians, and an evolving eclecticism resulting from more voices, both songwriting and instrumentation-wise.  The music has been often dubbed “chamber pop” because of the use of strings, horns, and broad arrangements, but it really can vary enough that you can expect about anything – moments of jazz, techno, and hard-driving rock all collide with poignant (and often strange) lyrics, while never sacrificing strong songwriting.

This eclecticism has lead to a series of albums (only a few have been released thus far) under the moniker Broken Social Scene Presents…, each featuring a band member writing songs performed by and backed by other members of the collective.  They are currently working on a new album in Chicago with Tortoise member and producer John McEntire.

Broken Social Scene play the 80/35 Blue Cross Blue Shield Main Stage at 7 PM on Saturday, July 4^th.

http://www.brokensocialscene.ca/

http://www.myspace.com/brokensocialscene