With its rotating line-up and varied back catalogue, fans could never be sure which version of Broken Social Scene would turn up on a new album, seven years after their last. Fifteen strong, with Leslie Feist and Emily Haines back on board, this Scene have come mob-handed; a cavalry arriving, with guitars, to combat these worsening times. The Toronto indie rock institution’s multifaceted jams reflect this headcount – Hug of Thunder is not hugely cogent – but equally benefit from the weight of numbers. You can really feel the force on Vanity Pail Kids, when you wonder whether Arcade Fire owe BSS a thing or two. The beguiling title track, by contrast, is just Feist, doing Feist.
