This is especially important as Hug of Thunder starts to loosen its grip in the second half this is how Broken Social Scene albums usually play out, yet they forgo their typical Side B drift for some of the band's most personable and emotionally urgent songwriting to date. includes Frank Zappa’s Joe’s Garage and Jason Mraz and everything in between) actually provided boundaries. If not restraint, it’s possible that working with big-time producer Joe Chiccarelli (whose C.V. They’ve never had a problem sounding big, but the inevitable point on each record where Drew and former producer David Newfeld couldn’t keep their friends in check has always been a subject of “bug or feature?” discussion. Any sort of industry leveling-up is probably out of the question at this point for Broken Social Scene and the possibility that they’re going for “hits” is entirely theoretical. More so than Forgiveness Rock Record, Hug of Thunder presents Broken Social Scene as a rock band making rock songs, a coherent montage rather than a patched-together highlight reel.
Affecting as it is on its own, it also serves as a necessary segue between the “Vanity Pail Kids” and the muted soul-baring of the second half. Immediately afterward, the subterranean rumbles of the title track are a peek at what Feist’s Pleasure might’ve been with fleshier arrangements. “Vanity Pail Kids” has the kind of arrangement that would proudly bleed into an undifferentiated splotch on previous albums, but here, the jazz-handed chorus opens the possibility of Broken Social Scene as an up-with-people Earth, Wind & Fire indie-soul revue. On its own, “Skyline” forgoes any hook for mesmeric repetition, getting Hug of Thunder to a cruising altitude where “Stay Happy” can serve as a realistic mantra. But in the same way that the members of Broken Social Scene renounce their star power to present a unified front, the individual songs of Hug of Thunder are best understood as reciprocal parts of a whole.Īfter the sunrise incantation of “Sol Luna,” “Halfway Home” gets Hug of Thunder to a height where the breathless plunge of the chorus from “Protest Song” can feel like a skydive without a parachute. The subsequent previews of Hug of Thunder also gave us “googly-eyed dream-pop,” “passed-out drunk and caffeine-wired studio wizards,” and also “the band with Feist in it.” Broken Social Scene are defined by a kind of utopian collectivism, and the lead-up to Hug of Thunder confirms that their excessive generosity can make them a seriously inefficient singles band. Which, yes, it sounds just like Broken Social Scene at the times when they’re going to lift you out of whatever hole you’re chosen to wallow in, even if it takes all 30 hands on deck. Drew and company try to make converts of lapsed idealists and people that remind him of his former self.Ģ017 has found many of the past decade’s most beloved indie rock acts returning after long layoffs, and as with many of their lead singles, ”Halfway Home” was greeted not with a loud embrace of crackling buzz, but a shrug, disappointed by the lack of novelty rather than marveling at just how Broken Social Scene distilled their essence into four minutes. While there’s an undeniable power in commiseration, Hug of Thunder is invigorated by the missionary spirit of the band’s best work. Tired of nihilism being presented as the only option for rational thinkers? Hug of Thunder is too. Feel like a washed outcast when confronted by the sterility of festival music and the humiliating sound degradation of digital streaming? Hug of Thunder is too.
Frustrated by people touting concepts of “radical community” and “self-care,” yet spending most of their day treating people like shit online? Hug of Thunder is too.
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