( Arts & Crafts,  Sept. 18, 2007)

Fans of Broken Social Scene get a treat this month, as, while the Arts & Crafts flagship band may not be releasing a proper follow up to 2005’s self-titled disc just yet, co-founder Kevin Drew has unleashed a loose and star-studded opus of his own. Comprised of songs recorded from 2005-2007, Spirit if…sees Drew take centre stage on a melodic collection that is as intense and layered an outing as one would generally expect from BSS itself and, featuring most of the usual cast, it will more than tide you over until that coveted collective release their next long-player.

The first in a series of releases under the heading Broken Social Scene Presents, Spirit If…is a smooth and intoxicating listen that is as intriguing as it is long (clocking in at over an hour), and has a lot to offer even the casual BSS fan (especially since it’s likely that a lot of these tracks were culled from recording sessions for their last record…but I digress). For Instance, while littered with expected appearances from the rest of the Broken Social players (a little gratuitous to call them guest-stars), the album also features contributions by none other than the diverse pairing of Dinosaur Jr.’s J Mascis and Can-rock karaoke favourite, Tom Cochrane. The former flexes his distorted muscle all over the explosive lead-single, “Backed Out on the…,” while the latter lends backing vocals to the anthemic and spirited (not to mention potentially “Fire Eye’d Boy” inspired) “Lucky Ones.”

At times rollicking, upbeat and even harsh (“Frightening Lives”) while intricate and soft at others (the haunting and delicate “Gang Bang Suicide”), Spirit If…is always an elaborately woven effort. However, for my money the real magic happens on the more understated and serene tracks like teaser MP3 “TBTF” and the sweet and charming “Safety Bricks”—the latter will have you “woo wooing” out loud to yourself as you pirouette down the street.

That said, does Spirit If…Sound A LOT like a Broken Social Scene record? Yes. And is it likely that Arts & Crafts have given it some of their increasingly brazen spin by adding the whole BSS Presents tagline? Definitely, but if giving Kevin Drew and Brendan Canning (both founding members of Broken Social Scene and both the intended focus of this series) their due is the goal of the Broken Social Scene Presents moniker, then I guess I can put up with a little progaganda. Sure, these intermittent BSS prefaced releases will put more pressure on the next album actually credited to the entire band, but with Spirit If… what we’re being given in the meantime is at worst a rich man’s Bee Hives and at best an excellent album of lush, colourful and expertly crafted songs. Combine that with the signature Arts & Crafts packaging—in this case a massive, multi-fold-out bundle with accompanying lyric booklet—and Spirit If…is an easily recommendable listen. In fact, that’s exactly what I’ll do: Go pick up this record and “woo woo” to your heart’s content.

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Click the play button below to listen to a track from the album or right-click, “Save Link As” to download (this song can also be found for download at both Kevin Drew’s website and his Myspace page–where you can here a few other tracks as well).

Kevin Drew - TBTF

Congratulations to those lucky enough to have picked up tickets to see Broken Social Scene playing Kevin Drew at Lee’s Palace on Sept. 27, as it’s now sold out, but you can buy the entire album here.