Among the many reasons to love Broken Social Scene is the fact that no matter how over-heated the 20-plus-member Canadian legion’s kitchen-sink anthems get, they’re iced in a dreamy shoegaze coating. With his semi-solo debut, Brendan Canning makes the case that he might be the guy really responsible for the Scene’s glisten, summoning goose bumps with gossamer strings and arranging rockers that simmer but don’t singe. Unfortunately, Canning’s murmuring vocals are more intriguing than engaging, so the album’s most memorable qualities are hidden in songs that just tend to drift off.
