Like Lapidus on the “Lost” series finale, Broken Social Scene (under the guidance of founders Kevin Drew and Brendan Canning) wastes no time getting their new album Forgiveness Rock Record off the ground. Album opener “World Sick” is one of the hardest hitting jams in the entire BSS catalog and still has a lot to contend with as other powerful FRR tracks such as “Forced to Love,” “Texico Bitches,” and “All to All” vie for position.

If the record has a fault it’s that it’s frontloaded with the most memorable tracks sitting in the front of the bus. As the album progresses it’s easy to zone out somewhere around the 48-minute mark. And it’s almost unforgivable that Drew concludes the album with 125 seconds that’s seemingly an ode to masturbation (“Me and My Hand”); not to be pedantic, but I could have done without the image, KD. Despite the five-finger send-off, Forgiveness Rock Record is an amazingly textured album that begs for headphone listening whilst wandering the filthy avenues of your nearest metropolis. For the foreseeable future I’ll be tuning in, turning up, and dropping out as I make my Chicago foot commutes with Drew, Feist, Emily Haines, and Amy Millan calling cadence.

(Arts&Crafts, 460 Richmond St. W. #402, Toronto, ON  M5V 1Y1 Canada)