After the release of
Feel Good Lost,
Broken Social Scene became a bit more collective, swelling from two members to ten (plus guests) and dropping their ambient instrumental approach in favor of full-blown rock songs. As you'd expect with such a dramatic rise in membership, there's a lot more variety this time out. The first two tracks mirror the band's transformation perfectly; in fact, the first is a fairly airy instrumental number with a
Mark Isham-like feel, while the second slams it off the rails with a driving beat and wailing guitars. Main members
Brendan Canning and
Kevin Drew even sing this time around, while Leslie Feist and
Emily Haines -- both of whom became Canadian stars after this release, which effectively fueled interest in
Feist's solo albums and
Haines' work with
Metric -- assume lead vocals 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 warrant an entire review in itself, as everyone took turns playing different instruments and the whole project was built from the ground up in a very collective fashion. Listeners who prefer the ambient pop of
Feel Good Lost may be put off by the all-over-the-map approach, but
You Forgot It in People is a more accessible release overall, and it helped set the stage for
Broken Social Scene's international breakthrough in 2005. ~ Sean Carruthers