Broken Social Scene presents "Kevin Drew- Spirit If..." sucks. No, it doesn't. It actually rules. It's the best album I've heard all year. Not that that's saying much. This year has been one big disappointment after another.
But "Spirit If..." isn't a disappointment. Part of the reason it isn't a huge disappointment is because it's very good, but the other, bigger reason is because I had very low expectations going in.
I thought BBS's last album, "Broken Social Scene" was kind of a let down. It had some really great songs, but they fell into the trap of thinking "Bigger means Better." Rarely do things actually turn out that way. They had way too many loud horns, huge choruses, ect. You could tell they were just grasping at straws, trying to find a way to top their magnificent "You Forget It In People", which is one of the few true classics released this decade.
Kevin Drew has always been the mastermind behind BBS, so the "failure" (for lack of a better term) of "Broken Social Scene" I laid squarely on his shoulders. So I thought his first solo album (even though all the music is played by the members of BBS) would be more of the same. Big, huge numbers when he should stick to the small and simple.
The result is a nice mix of both, actually. Drew has plenty of the small, understated songs I like so much (Gang Bang Suicide, Safety Bricks) but he also has the big, loud, sing-along songs he's grown to love (Farewell to the Pressure Kids, Lucky Ones). I was surprised by how good this album is.
Drew has seemingly gone the way of Arcade Fire, bringing a Bruce Springsteen feel to the album. I thought it was a good move for Arcade Fire (a pretty overrated band, if you ask me) and it works for Kevin Drew. You can really hear it on Lucky Ones, which is one of the best songs on the album. A pure straight ahead rocker, which back in 2003 would have meant it was just a Dinosuar Jr. sound alike.
All in all, it's a good album and gives me hope for the next Broken Social Scene presents album (Brendan Canning's album is coming next year)
Rating- 9.3 Best Songs- Farewell to the Pressure Kids, Lucky Ones, Gang Bang Suicide
P.S. And no one drops the word "fuck" quite as well as Drew.
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