My Top 100 Albums: #100 - Broken Social Scene, ‘Hug of Thunder’

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100.

Broken Social Scene, ‘Hug of Thunder’

Arts and Crafts, 2017

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Hug of Thunder is, for me, the best work from Canadian indie-rock collective Broken Social Scene. A culmination of almost twenty years of experimentation, this album presents the whole range of sound that the band is capable of. After a short instrumental overture, the album sparks into life with the punchy and powerful lead single Halfway Home and this really sets the pace for the record. From there, the album progresses through a series of ballads, each as catchy as the last; all independently original and yet together they form a dynamic collective. The attention to detail in the production is fastidious and the density and profundity in the soundscapes really set this record apart from the band’s other oeuvre. Protest Song is light, poppy and catchy, while Gonna Get Better, a particular highlight in my book, features dense electronica and haunting vocals from Ariel Engle, whose deliberate de-colouring in the vocal line provides a really unique flavour to the track. Vanity Pail Kids provides a bold brass section before deviating into a more conventional electronic/dance pop sound, while Victim Lover is a more laid-back, introspective beat-driven number. Listening to this album is a real treat - you can put it on in the background while working, sit down with it and really take in the diversity of sounds, or even get up and dance/vibe to it. This emotional depth is what, in my opinion, makes this an album worthy of a Top 100 berth.

Hidden Highlight: Gonna Get Better

1. Sol Luna

2. Halfway Home

3. Protest Song

4. Skyline

5. Stay Happy

6. Vanity Pail Kids

7. Hug of Thunder

8. Towers and Masons

9. Victim Lover

10. Please Take Me With You

11. Gonna Get Better

12. Mouth Guards Of The Apocalypse

13. Old Dead Young

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See the full list so far here:

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