Personnel: Susannah Brady (vocals, spoken vocals); Brendan Canning (vocals, guitar, acoustic guitar, piano, organ, double bass, drum machine); Andrew Whiteman (vocals, guitar, tres, organ, tambourine); Kevin Drew (vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards, drums, background vocals); Leslie Feist, Emily Haines (vocals, background vocals); Charles Spearin (guitar, acoustic guitar, harmonica, organ, keyboards, drum machine); John Crossingham (guitar, drums); Jessica Moss (violin); Ohad Benchetrit (flute); Brodie West (saxophone); Evan Cranley (trombone, percussion); Justin Peroff (drums, shaker, percussion).

Recording information: Stars And Suns.

Nothing less than an indie-rock milestone, this is what happens when a number of musicians from the Canadian post-rock scene (including members of Godspeed You Black Emperor, A Silver Mt. Zion, and Do Make Say Think) abandon their extended-jam conceptualizing in favor of short, optimistic, pop-oriented songs. Things start out in a jazzy, bass-heavy space before morphing into "KC Accidental," a guitar-layered track that sounds like the Allman Brothers covering Sonic Youth's "Teenage Riot." Catchy hooks triplicate alongside hand clapping, fuzz guitar, and Brendan Canning's whispered vocals on "Stars and Sons," while the mellow, acoustic "Looks Just Like the Sun" gives way to the twangy neo-Tropicalia and cockeyed (but uplifting and cohesive) experimentalism of "Pacific Theme."

Emily Haines (of the Metrics) lends a vocal to "Anthems for a Seventeen Year-Old Girl," which ends in a roundelay of swirling violins and banjo. "Cause = Time" is an even more tuneful brother to "Stars and Sons" that's so good, by the time the mournful, gorgeous "Lover's Spit" comes up one might be too satisfied to appreciate its obscene levels of craftsmanship. For a band with so many members, Broken Social Scene creates a remarkably spacious and well-orchestrated atmosphere on YOU FORGOT IT IN PEOPLE.

Since the release of Feel Good Lost, Toronto music collective Broken Social Scene became a bit more collective, swelling from two members to ten (plus guests). As you'd expect with such a dramatic rise in membership, there's a lot more variety this time out -- the first two tracks are a case in point; in fact, the first track is a fairly airy instrumental number with a Mark Isham-like feel, but track two slams it off the rails with a driving beat and wailing guitars. Main members Brendan Canning and Kevin Drew even sing this time around (on "Cause=Time" Drew sounds almost like J Mascis); Leslie Feist and Emily Haines take their turns on other tracks. According to one of the members of this incarnation of the group, trying to determine "who did what" on this album would be almost an entire review in itself, as everyone took turns playing different instruments on different tracks and the whole thing was built from the ground up in a very collective fashion. Although listeners who found the first Broken Social Scene release a nice ambient pop treat may be put off by this one's all-over-the-map approach, it's certainly a much more accessible release overall and there's bound to be something in here that you'll enjoy. [You Forgot It in People was also released with a slightly different 'alternate' cover in 2003.] ~ Sean Carruthers

Since the release of Feel Good Lost, Toronto music collective Broken Social Scene became a bit more collective, swelling from two members to ten (plus guests). As you'd expect with such a dramatic rise in membership, there's a lot more variety this time out -- the first two tracks are a case in point; in fact, the first track is a fairly airy instrumental number with a Mark Isham-like feel, but track two slams it off the rails with a driving beat and wailing guitars. Main members Brendan Canning and Kevin Drew even sing this time around (on "Cause=Time" Drew sounds almost like J Mascis); Leslie Feist and Emily Haines take their turns on other tracks. According to one of the members of this incarnation of the group, trying to determine "who did what" on this album would be almost an entire review in itself, as everyone took turns playing different instruments on different tracks and the whole thing was built from the ground up in a very collective fashion. Although listeners who found the first Broken Social Scene release a nice ambient pop treat may be put off by this one's all-over-the-map approach, it's certainly a much more accessible release overall and there's bound to be something in here that you'll enjoy. [You Forgot It in People was reissued with different cover art in 2003.] ~ Sean Carruthers