iSound

Broken Social Scene: a brief (for a band with eighteen members) history… After so many achievements (not to mention Canada’s ascension to the top of the indie rock oil well), it may seem a bit disingenuous to say that the acceptance of Broken Social Scene still comes a surprise. But on the expectant eve of their eponymous third record, it remains a bit crazy that anyone outside Toronto cares about this band. Call it a Canadian inferiority complex, but some things just feel strange. And yet, as hindsight renders pipe dreams into fate, and recasts failures as lessons learned, few can now imagine that this band was ever destined for anything less than wild, iconoclastic success. The truth is, both views of the band are correct — at nearly every turn, BSS has succeeded for the very reasons it should have failed. Broken Social Scene was started in 1999, born of a theme that has become the stalwart of the band’s existence — friendship in tough times. Kevin Drew was a talented, but esse...