"Forgiveness Rock Record" -- Strength in numbers

How the hell do these guys pull it off?

Broken Social Scene isn't so much a band as it's an idea. Well, that's not entirely true (and it's a stupid sentence I shouldn't have written because nobody talks like that). Broken Social Scene is a dizzy, stream-of-conscious, revolving-door collective that has ten times more ambition than focus. The fact that anything coherent can come out of a band like this is incredible.

Kevin Drew is the guy mostly in charge of steering this unwieldy ship, but he's got dozens of friends who float in and out of the crew to add a dash of creative energy to whatever Drew is trying to lay down.

"Forgiveness Rock Record" is the collective's first official release in five years, but the BSS imprint has only gotten stronger. BSS alumni Feist, Metric, Do Make Say Think, Stars and The Weakerthans (and at least 10 other bands) have developed into major acts on their own. More so than any other modern indie band, Broken Social Scene is probably who I'd play for someone who had absolutely no idea what indie rock is and wanted to "kinda hear what the fuss was all about."

This time around, Drew teamed up with John McEntire (credits include drummer for Tortoise and the Sea and Cake) and laid down a record much more streamlined and sharp than one could reasonably expect from a band set up like this. The Scene's two previous full lengths, "You Forgot it in People" and the eponymous follow-up, played like a collection of post-it notes jammed together into some really hip collage.

Drew and his clan were always expert sloganeers. "You Forgot it in People" remains my favorite album title of all time. Just love that combination of words, for some reason. Drew could run for President of Indie Rock, if such a thing existed.

This time around, those short bits coalesce into a whole more so than ever before.

"Forgiveness Rock Record" is exactly what the title would indicate. It's a big, awesome indie rock album, complete with jagged guitars, sing-a-long choruses, forays into minimal dream-pop and an underlying theme of catharsis, acceptance, and, um, forgiveness.

I've yet to hear a song that stopped me in my tracks like, say, "Anthems for a Seventeen-Year-Old Girl," but "World Sick," "Forced to Love," "All to All," "Meet me in the Basement," and "Sentimental X's" come damn close. Even "Water in Hell" would've been a really awesome Built to Spill song, if it wasn't so Pavementy.

There really isn't a false step, musically. The record sounds huge -- the way any record with two dozen contributors should sound. There's another massive Canadian indie-rock outfit who are no doubt hearing this record and saying to each other "We have to step our game up."

Is this record pretentious? Oh, totally. Do I give a crap? Not in the least. Sincerity covers up just about any flaw this record might have -- at least in my book.

Verdict: "Forgiveness Rock Record" is gigantic. A big, big love.