Broken Social Scene — You Forgot It In People

It took me a few listens to get into You Forgot It In People. The first time I downloaded it, I skimmed through the songs. Upon not finding any immediate hits on what was billed as a pop album, I decided to give it a more thorough listen on a later date. Now, nearly a year after first listening to it, I decided to give it another chance, and another, and another. There is so much more to this album than I initially thought.

Maybe the most amazing thing about Broken Social Scene is how many incredible bands the supergroup contains. Members of Metric, Feist, and Stars are all present on You Forgot It In People, and it shows. The band manages to put each individual’s talent to good use. This brilliant album is disjointed enough not to be repetitive, but cohesive enough to not lose the listener’s attention, even throughout the several instrumentals that are scattered through the track listing.

The standout tracks here are definitely fan-favorites “Anthems For A Seventeen Year-Old Girl” and “Lover’s Spit.” “Anthems” is a stunning piece, consisting of soft banjo plucks and strings drifting around Emily Haines of Metric’s looping, warped vocals. The repetition is key as Haines rolls through several choice phrases, letting each resonate before pleading “Park that car, drop that phone, sleep on the floor, dream about me” again and again until you want to do just that. The phrase gets gently imprinted in your ears, becoming a sort of mantra which stays in your head through the instrumentals which follow shortly after. “Lover’s Spit” is one of the oddest and bitterest ballads in recent memory, and when paired with “Anthems” creates a potent mixture of lonely longing that hasn’t been matched in years.

The rest of the album doesn’t hit quite as heavily, but when combined with the standout tracks, You Forgot It In People is easier to relate to than most pop albums. While so much pop is about common problems, it often feels like the musicians are removed and distant. Here, Broken Social Scene is messaging you late at night, because they know exactly how you feel and they want to let you know.

I think what stands out to me the most about You Forgot It In People is that Broken Social Scene managed to make music for teenagers without being simplistic. The lyrics oscillate between simple, powerful mantras and dark, visceral, abrasive metaphors, but not once does the album come off as condescending or fake. Instead, Broken Social Scene is holding your hair back when you vomit from drinking too much trying to forget, and laughing with you when you laugh at yourself the next morning. You just want to return the favor.

Artist: Broken Social Scene
Album: You Forgot It In People
Score: 4.5
Label: Arts & Crafts
Release: 2002/10/15