Something for All of Us... [Digipak] (CD - 2008)

Personnel: Brendan Canning (vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards, synthesizer); Kevin Drew (vocals, synthesizer); Elizabeth Powell, Lisa Lobsinger, Jason Collett, Amy Millan, Sam Goldberg (vocals); Ryan Kondrat, John La Magna (guitar, synthesizer); Chad Benchetrit (acoustic guitar); Bill Priodle, Andrew Whiteman (electric guitar); Fiona Stewart, Rebecca Brenner, Julie Penner (violin); Liam O'Neil (saxophone, electric piano, synthesizer); James Shaw (trumpet); Chris Seligman (French horn); Evan Cranley (trombone); Kevin Hearn (piano); Justin Peroff (drums, percussion).

Audio Mixer: Chris Cobain.

Not to be outdone by his Broken Social Scene collaborator Kevin Drew, who issued his first solo outing (SPIRIT IF.) in late 2007, singer/multi-instrumentalist Brendan Canning unveiled his own debut, SOMETHING FOR ALL OF US, the following summer. As with most BSS-related projects, SOMETHING is highly eclectic, ranging from the amped-up, Dinosaur Jr.-inspired title track to the slinky funk number "Love Is New" to "All the Best Wooden Toys Come from Germany," a playful electronica piece that wouldn't sound out of place on a Caribou or Four Tet release. Unsurprisingly, many regulars of the Arts & Crafts label stop by for a visit, including Jason Collett, Amy Millan (Stars), and Drew, who performs a rare duet with his BSS cohort on the shimmering "Churches Under the Stairs," giving fans of the band plenty to thrive on until the next group album.

Brendan Canning, the bearded and bespectacled bassist (hooray for alliteration!) and co-founder of Canadian indie rock superheroes Broken Social Scene tossed his hat into the BSS side project machine with the aptly-titled Something for All of Us..., a loose collection of singalongs, lo- and hi-fi rockers, groove-oriented toe-tappers and fuzzed-out, psych-folk laments that echo the 2007 "Broken Social Scene Presents" offering Spirit If... put forth by bandmate Kevin Drew. Vocally, Canning is the Elliott Smith of the group, but without all of the gut-twisting, black hole despair, and while his compositions may lack Drew's lyrical, classic-pop conciseness, they revel in the meandering, post-rock inclusiveness that has marked some BSS' most epic tracks. From the feedback-laden intro of the album's namesake through the warm and contemplative Dennis Wilson-esque closer "Take Care, Look Up," Canning positions himself as more of a conductor than a front man, allowing the small army of friends and BSS' alumni the room to throw around their collective weight. At its best, like on the string-swollen "Chameleon" and the twinkling, dub-lite instrumental "All the Best Wooden Toys Come from Germany," Something for All of Us... manages to connect without really saying much, which is tough to pull off, even for a veteran of one of the underground rock league's most beloved teams. And while concern for the fate of the band may increase with each new solo project, fans would be hard to pressed to find a better, more satisfying set of tribute records than those put forth by Drew, Jason Collett, Andrew Whiteman, Leslie Feist, and now, Brendan Canning. ~ James Christopher Monger minimize