Canadian indie supergroup Broken Social Scene are the same as they ever were on Hug of Thunder

You can’t talk about Canadian indie rock in the 2000s without Broken Social Scene, in part because the group is a community unto itself. This small musical army’s ranks include members of Metric, Stars, KC Accidental, Do Make Say Think, Apostle of Hustle, and an indomitable face of indie-pop crossover success, Feist. But as much as their grand, driven, and sometimes intimate style is representative of indie rock in the aughties, Broken Social Scene aren’t anchored by the past. On their first album in seven years, July’s Hug of Thunder (Arts & Crafts), they’re resilient and effervescent, rolling with the instrumental sunbursts and mellow melodies key to much of their best material. The 15 musicians who contributed to Hug of Thunder have managed to keep Broken Social Scene a firm unit, but their approach is pliable—the hint of chromium 80s Manchester postpunk they apply to “Please Take Me With You” enhances the song’s doleful melody and lighter-than-air ambience.   v