Broken Social Scene Presents: Kevin Drew - Spirit If…

While the likes of Feist, Apostle of Hustle, and Jason Collett have done especially well on their own, touring and recording consistently enough to build on the Broken Social Scene fanbase that was already there, the de facto "leader" of the group—sorry, collective, Kevin Drew, has been relatively silent on the solo front until now. As opposed to Feist's charming predilection towards Parisian chanson music, Andrew Whiteman's inspired use of Cuban music, and Collett's completely unpretentious country rock, Drew is a comparatively introverted character, more often than not singing in a tentative whisper and letting the other Broken Social Scenesters engage with the crowds, so it was no surprise it took this long to put out his official solo debut. And like the artist, Spirit If… is as eclectic as it is enigmatic.

Comprised of material recorded over the course of over two years, and containing contributions by nearly every prominent member of BSS, the album, much like Broken Social Scene's terrific 2005 album, is a bit of a garbled mish-mash of styles and sounds, but despite a good amount of inspired moments, Drew's effort is less consistent. It certainly doesn't help matters that the pretentious indie rock toss-off "Farewell to the Pressure Kids", with its overuse of distortion and intentionally off-key vocals, is the lead-off track, but after seriously threatening to derail the entire project before it had a chance to get going, the album quickly rights itself with the gently upbeat, understated tracks "TBTF", "F—ked Up Kid", and "Safety Bricks", as Drew, who loves to paint character sketches of social outcasts, manages to sound sincere and soulful in the process. The repeated vocal melody of "Gang Bang Suicide" is painfully awkward at first, but soon becomes oddly charming, while the electronic-enhanced "Frightening Lives" exudes a murky, nocturnal vibe, and "Bodhi Sappy Weekend" shifts over to gentle ork-pop.

Spirit If… would have been far better off if it had been trimmed of about twenty minutes of flab, but its strengths far outweigh the more tepid moments. Besides, when it can give us a gem like the euphoric "Lucky Ones", which ranks right up there with the best work Broken Social Scene has ever done, the moments of self-indulgence can easily be forgiven.