Feel Good Lost lacks immediacy, yet there is something about its shyness and mystery that keeps me guessing and coming back for more. Broken Social Scene's debut bestows upon the listener's ears some truly captivating, otherworldly material, which only occasionally becomes disoriented by its own ambition. Nevertheless, most of the album is immensely rewarding and rich with ideas. For me, this album is a little bit of both. Some may find utter magnificence, while others may find monotony. The problem is that the quest for the meaning behind this album may ultimately be fruitless. However, tracks like the high-spirited 'Cranley's Gonna Make It' put forth a level of engagement that brings a pleasant vibe to this perplexing album. By the time some of the songs have already flirted with the listener's deepest emotions, the song is again trying to woo the person into an even cloudier trance. Some tracks become slightly repetitive, detracting from the initial charm and intrigue they present. Not every track delivers this same level of sentimental intensity. The second track, 'Guilty Cubicles' represents the album's largest spurt of raw emotion with a spellbinding consolidation of beauty and mystery. 'I Slept with Bonhomme at the CBC' glides on a breeze of light guitar, electronics, and other delicate strings. The LP starts off incredibly strong with two entrancing post-rock gems.

The sonic richness of the song allows it to transcend the practical and logical to arrive at an imaginative haven of untapped energy. 'Passport Song' shakes things up a bit on the first half of the record with subdued but equally powerful female vocals that wiggle their way into the mix of percussion and ambient seclusion. On 'Stomach Song', several layers of spoken word coat the underlying guitar and basslines in what begins to resemble an extraterrestrial sound. When vocals are used, which is rare, they work quite well. Drew and Canning strive to craft a deeply visceral experience with little reliance on melody. You can find a smirking bass adorned with violins in 'Mossbraker' or even an unexpected harmonica lead in 'Blues for Uncle Gibb'. As a result, no one instrument dominates the others. While Kevin Drew and Brendan Canning are really the only masterminds behind this release as opposed to the enormous lineup Broken Social Scene has become known for, they employ an impressively broad array of instruments to their work. It's a vast enigma, but it's one that strikes the listener as wonderful and divine.Īn interesting trait of this record is the democracy of instruments. There is no guarantee that this LP will grant you what you are looking for. Listening to the album in its entirety feels like staring into a bewildering painting and desperately searching for something remotely objective, something concrete. Many of these tracks are without a definable structure, making them sound like an indistinct stream of ethereal sounds. Being a primarily instrumental endeavor, Feel Good Lost frequently digresses into sequences of delicate sonic textures and humble musical ideas. The first obvious element of this album that makes it seem devoid of human contact is the dearth of vocals. Now that I've been able to deconstruct this LP, developing a more clear-cut opinion has been more feasible. In my experience, Feel Good Lost was hard to initially get into because it often felt so beyond the scope of human nature and beyond our world as we know it. Once I stopped listening to this as a sort of indie rock album in the vein of You Forgot It In People and more as a subtle ambient, post-rock record, it was much easier to follow along. This is not an album that you blare through your speakers during a late afternoon drive it's one that you passively absorb as it takes you far, far away. As a fan whose gateway into Broken Social Scene was their subsequent release, You Forgot It In People, I was immediately taken aback by Feel Good Lost's total strangeness. On the first few listens, this album is almost impenetrable. Feel Good Lost is the result of these musical artists indulging in their experimental inclinations and barely finding themselves in a blurry, but dazzling dream state. Evoking images of abstract happiness and unreachable heights, the music on this LP can transport you to a place far beyond the bounds of rationality. On their first album, this group was aiming for something sublime, something that words would not properly convey. Review Summary: Feel Good Lost may be somewhat long-winded, but its meek display of splendor is certainly noteworthy.īroken Social Scene can be described in any number of ways, but predictable is not one of them.

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