One of the strengths of Hug of Thunder is its sound variety, an aspect that is perfectly displayed on the third and fourth track: “Protest Song” is lead by a bassline and a quivering hammetone guitar while “Skyline” begins with an acoustic guitar, is then sustained by trombones and trumpets, and is finally closed by a lovely synth. The two main vocal performers, Drew and Ariel Engle, trade verses on dreaming and surviving, piling a strong crescendo that is highlighted by a shoegazing guitar. The second track is uptempo, mimicking an urgent run between two lovers, and it’s brilliantly opened by an electric nyckelharpa lead chorus. The intro “Sol Luna” is quiet and cradling, a short ambient song that builds towards the end and shortly blacks out, leaving all the lights upon “Halfway Home”. Well, I was blown away even after the very first listen. Personally, my expectations were somewhat low, seven years after a disappointing work it seemed fair to predict a harmless album, with a couple of good songs but nothing more than that. After the mediocre 2010’s Forgiveness Rock Record BSS were awaited for a good record in 2017, so Hug of Thunder was released the 7th of July through their own label Arts & Crafts. The next two records catapulted Broken Social Scene into cult-like status: You Forgot It in People and the eponymous album delivered amazing songwriting, an impressive variety of instruments and sounds, all of that spiced by the obliging vocals of Feist, Drew and Canning. Obviously, the influences were many as testified by their 2001 debut album Feel Good Lost, which was for the most part an instrumental post-rock album with indie and ambient pop traces. Broken Social Scene began in 1999 as a project between the Canadians Kevin Drew and Brendan Canning but the small band quickly expanded into a collective of 10 to 18 artists and performers.
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