If you can accept that, though, there’s some wonderful music contained in Old Dead Young beginning with the atmospheric “Far Out” from the Forgiveness Rock Record preorder EP Lo-Fi for the Dividing Nights, they ping-pong between eras immediately, bringing us the borderline-grungy “Stars and Sons” b-side “Do the 95,” which is one of the more compelling additions to the collection. While that seems like a “no duh” type of sentiment, the presentation here might lead one to feel disappointed at the lack of a new angle from which to view the band. The nature of these recordings is that they’re already linked to the band’s trajectory between 20. That said, none of this is to say the compilation is revelatory - despite the thoughtfulness put into the songs included and their sequencing. Old Dead Young operates like a well-crafted packet of supplementary material, filling out the picture we already have of the band. Those wishing it operated more like a history lesson may find themselves disappointed, but those aching for something “new” by the band will be pleased. And this is also where Old Dead Young’s biggest strength lies: while most bands would be content to simply throw all of these songs onto a disc and sell it on Bandcamp, this one displays a decent amount of thought and effort put into the way it moves from track to track, sacrificing chronology for cohesion by zigzagging throughout the band’s career. This is where Old Dead Young (named for a vinyl-only bonus track from Hug of Thunder) comes in: spanning their career, it pulls cuts from compilations, b-sides, soundtracks and even their own unheard vaults to put together what could easily pass for a new album by the band. Though the future of Broken Social Scene is currently murky, this years-long gap in recording is exactly the right kind of time for a band to look backwards - an even worthier task for a band like this, who have steadily shifted and changed their creative drives on a near-constant basis since Feel Good Lost came out 20 years ago. ![]() ![]() It’s not the longest break they’ve taken between albums - Hug of Thunder came after a seven-year gap following 2010’s Forgiveness Rock Record, which itself was five years after their eponymous third record - but for all intents and purposes, the group have been quiet for a while. ![]() As of this writing, we’re nearing five years since Hug of Thunder, the most recent album by Canada’s beloved collective Broken Social Scene.
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