Broken Social Scene Plays Boulder Theatre, 3/19

Z2 Entertainment presents Broken Social Scene at the Boulder Theater on Saturday, March 19th, 2011.

"Forgiveness Rock Record" marks a clean break from the narrative that began with 2001's modest "Feel Good Lost," accelerated rapidly with the international breakthrough of 2002's "You Forgot It In People" and then was nearly derailed with 2005's tumultuous self-titled release, recorded at a time when the band was flush with sudden success, but struggling to find the right tour-life/home-life balance. As the title not-too-subtly indicates, "Forgiveness Rock Record" is about making amends for past mistakes, and songs like "World Sick" (set amid "a minefield of wounded affection") and the urgent rocker "Forced to Love" carry traces of the self-titled album's interpersonal anxieties. But primarily, the mood is one of acceptance and moving on-and, by extension, of coming to terms with the differences between the Broken Social Scenes of 2002 and 2010. The resident sirens Emily Haines, Feist and Amy Millan share the billing on "Sentimental X's" speaks to their more limited involvement in Broken Social Scene as they tend to their own bands and careers, and the repeated lyrics about "a friend you used to call" underscores the sense of relationships drifting apart. Yet the song's accelerated tempo reflects they beauty and the thrill in moving forward on separate paths, coupled with the reassurance that "off and on is what we want." Conversely, the showcase of singer Lisa Lobsinger on perhaps the album's most thematically resonant track, "All to All," is a testament to the valuable role she's played as the band's regular on-tour vocalist since 2005, and the role she'll continue to play in forging the band's future.

But as Drew is careful to note at pretty much every concept Broken Social Scene plays, this is not about them; "we do this for you." "Forgiveness Rock Record" doesn't linger on the idea of redemption as a way to talk about their pasts, but to inspire you to let go of your own baggage and carry on-a philosophy best exemplified by centerpiece track "Romance to the Grave," which sees Drew anxiously trading verses with The and Cake's Sam Prekop, before the song is cast out on a wave of heavenly harmonies, translating tension into ecstasy. That sense of liberation and exhalation is felt throughout "Forgiveness Rock Record," be it in the form of charming disco-pop confections like "Texico Bitches" (Featuring guest vocals from Pavement's Spiral Stairs), the group-march fanfare of "Meet Me In The Basement" or the joyous drunk-rock hoedown "Water in Hell."

What ultimately makes "Forgiveness Rock Record" a quintessential Broken Social Scene album is not a matter of who produced the record or who plays on what song, but how the emotions and sentiments expressed within resonate through your own lives and loves.

Tickets are on sale at Boulder Theater Box Office. Call (303) 786-7030 for tickets by phone. Tickets are also available at www.bouldertheater.com.

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