Broken Social Scene Went Through Hell While Making Their New Album

Canadian indie ensemble Broken Social Scene have been living up to their name in recent years. The band's 19 members (when at full contingent) have been scattered to the wind, following their own muse and working on different (often high profile) projects.

It was never a split as such - they've reconvened for the occasional gig and festival spot during the hiatus - but their newly-minted fifth album Hug Of Thunder is their first new music in seven years, and multi-instrumentalist mainstay Brendan Canning explains that it was easy to slip back into the collective mindset.

"I came back to it on a personal note just trying to be the best individual that I can be for this group, and for understanding my role or how I could provide the best things for the band," he offers. "Everyone wears different hats for different songs. You could be playing a different instrument on a different track, that's kind of how this band operates - if you hear something missing, then maybe you have the missing ingredient. Maybe it's early enough in the morning or late enough at night, and maybe you're in the right balance or the right frame of mind."

Canning explains that with so many contributors, it's just a matter of leaving your ego at the door.

"It's an interesting band to get something done: there's a lot of big voices and a lot of people who like to sit in the captain's chair, and when you have six captain's chairs all pointing in slightly different directions the waters can get a bit murky," he smiles. "You just have to trust your instincts and also trust everyone else's instincts, because this band is just full of ideas. Some of them are going to be great, and some of them are going to be not quite as great."

Hug Of Thunder is rife with the band's trademark joyousness, but there's also an element of sadness permeating certain songs.

"I just think it's a real reflection of where the band is at and was at during the making of this record," Canning reflects. "We had three different parents die during the making of this record and one child got diagnosed with an illness - people were just going through shit, as you do at any age I guess but specifically with this group as you get older and different aspects of life's frailty get in the way. You just have to contend with it, and I think that's reflected in certain songs. 

"Then with other songs there's that buoyancy that's helped build this band's career over the years, that jubilation that people have come to expect and appreciate. I think you've got to have a little bit of the darkness to even get to the positive aspects, otherwise you're just in some kind of strange bipolar universe."