Canadian group Broken Social Scene produced a sterling performance at the Corner Hotel as part of their recent Melbourne tour. Their music is a complex, layered modern rock, which at times pulses urgently and at others drifts, exploring the edges of their melodies. With up to 10 musicians on stage at once, it’s a credit to their ability that they manage to contain and control the various tensions at play. Four guitars, horns, violin and vocals combine with a strong percussion to create a powerful and dense sound, while still ensuring the individual components are heard.
Their two hour set opened with a barrage of tracks from their latest self-titled album, including 7/4 (Shoreline) and Ibi Dreams of Pavement (A better day), and then moved onto a few instrumental numbers and extended versions. The mellower Lover’s Spit was to be the last song, but ignoring the Corner’s mid-week noise restrictions, they brought everyone back on stage to play a rambunctious It’s All Gonna Break.
The band’s collaborative nature and willingness to support local acts was emphasized by Architecture in Helsinki’s trombonist joining them for their Australian gigs. Sarah Seltmann of support act New Buffalo provided vocals for one song, and Pavement’s “Spiral Stairs” added a fifth guitar to another. Broken Social Scene’s eclectic music was also represented in the variety of on-stage personas, straight out of a film like Garden State, yet distinctly Canadian. The understated unshaven indie-rockers, posturing guitarists, dishevelled spectacled geek and Richmond Football fan all shared the stage with a genuine sense of camaraderie. Founder and frontman Kevin Andrews exhorted a generally receptive crowd to “Enjoy your lives!” and this band certainly makes that task a little easier.
An edited version of this article appears in Melbourne University's Student Newspaper Farrago, Edition 2, 2006
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