Broken Social Scene, Chastity, and Trenton Burton
Broken Social Scene
Old Dead Young: B Sides & Rarities // Arts & Crafts
Something I love about this gig is being introduced to so many amazing new Canadian musicians, but occasionally I’m given the opportunity to cover a release from more established artists and ensembles, some of whose work goes back almost two decades. Such is Broken Social Scene, a collective of musicians originating from Toronto in 1999.
One thing distinct of this group is their members, ranging from as few as six to as many as nineteen. Some of these artists you may be familiar with, such as Feist, Jason Collett, Amy Millan, and Emily Haines of Metric. This variety of musical backgrounds in their ensemble provides the group with plenty of wiggle room between genres, which can vary from synth-pop to country rock.
History lesson aside, their newest album Old Dead Young: B-Sides & Rarities is a compilation album of bonus tracks, outtakes, and other material going back to the early 2000’s. These 14 tracks showcase Broken Social Scene for their legendary status in the Canadian indie-rock scene, and these tracks display their innovative approach to the genre, using elements still used by musicians to this day such as the blend of overdrive and reverb commonly associated with indie rock.
Whether you’ve been a fan of Broken Social Scene for a while now or if you’re like me and this is your introduction to them you’ll find yourself lost in the indie sounds of this wonderful collection. With an orchestra of instruments from the bass, guitar, and drums of a rock band to the piano and brass of a jazz piece this album creates a genre-salad chalk full of auditory vegetables and smothered in the sauce of sound.
- Brandon Kruze
Chastity
Suffer Summer // Dine Alone Records
Many use music as an escape. Whether it’s casual listening or crying to “Wheat Kings” for the millionth time, we use the music as a way of getting away. Whether that’s from the sound of traffic or the screams of a tortured mind is all a matter of circumstance. Now, this doesn’t necessarily mean you need to listen to happy music when you’re sad – quite the contrary. When one’s feeling existential and lost in the world, hearing it from someone else can be quite cathartic.
From Whitby, Ontario is Brandon Williams, and his newest album under the Chastity moniker, Suffer Summer, is ten songs for those with a broken heart and a yearning for purpose in a seemingly meaningless existence. The album contains lyrics that take on heavy subject matter such as the memories of a love now lost, isolation of body and mind, and suicidal thoughts.
Suffer Summer takes a sound straight out of the early 2000’s alternative rock scene and blends it out with parts of indie-pop and post-hardcore to accentuate the emotional range provided by the vocals of Williams. Each song in the album takes us through the twists and turns of an overactive mind in an underactive suburbia, forming a heart wrenching ballad that spans the albums entirety.
Another Canadian connection to Suffer Summer is the featured artist, Dallas Green from City and Colour, one of Brandon Williams’s musical heroes. You can find him on the albums penultimate track, “Vicious Circle”, providing guest vocals in a beautiful duet between the fellow musicians.
Something I found fascinating was in reading the press release after my first listening. Brandon William’s considers this album to be a meditation on happiness, which almost directly contradicts my own thoughts. It made me think to myself that perhaps these dark lyrics are what we use as an auditory catharsis. We use the feelings of another to escape our own feelings, and perhaps find a connection. I find reconciliation through knowing that in my darker days I’ll have this album, where through Suffer Summer I’ll be told, “You’re not alone.”
- Brandon Kruze
Trenton Burton
We’re Lucky We’re Here At All! // Self Released
Back in the summer of 2021, Winnipeg local Trenton Burton finally ended his plight of the long-suffering writer and eked out an album that is so darn impressive it makes me worry that we’ve hit a 2022 high water mark too soon. After his 2017 offering Six to Twenty-One, his sophomore release We’re Lucky We’re Her At All! casts a broader net than his mental health centred first album and wrangles with themes of anxiety, heteronormativity, self-discovery, climate change, and certainly not least of all - the pandemic.
Burton wrapped up so many of my teenage influences into one sound that quite frankly, it was embarrassing. I suspect we’re pretty close in age because his medley of tones hit me with back to back jabs of nostalgia while my back was on the ropes. In here you will find the sounds of We Are The City, Peach Pit, Bon Iver, and so many adjacent 2010’s heavy hitters while Burton strikes thematic moods that are just as relatable as his sonic sensibilities.
Haters of pandemic media shouldn’t fear wading into these waters. More than anything, Burton’s writing feels topical and relatable while he strays away from moods of the despondence, ambivalence, or self-pity that can infect pandemic media. Honesty ran through the ink of his pen as he worked through this album and the emotions that fed it, and that same honesty will bleed through your speaker as you listen.
Despite the potency of the influences, We’re Lucky We’re Here At All! is hardly stale. Familiarity and honesty are the strengths of his approach and you’ll find yourself relishing in the familiarity of tone while the catharsis of his honesty washes over you. Burton put forth a well-produced, well-written, and well-executed effort in exploring the emotions of pandemic year three. We can all find common ground here, after all, We’re Lucky we’re Here At All!
- Clay Geddert
