Broken Social Scene Returns With “Remember The Humans”, On Their Own Time.
Nine years is a long time for a band to stay quiet without breaking up. Broken Social Scene never really vanished. They kept playing shows and stayed influential, but their last album, Hug of Thunder, was released in 2017. Since then, a lot has changed, so it wasn’t certain they would return. Remember the Humans came out on May 8th. The real question isn’t if they still sound good, but why they chose to come back now.
The reason for their return is tied to how the album was created. Kevin Drew and producer David Newfeld, who also worked on You Forgot It in People, both lost their mothers while making this record. That fact isn’t just a side note; it shapes the entire album. The twelve songs are rooted in grief, with Feist, Lisa Lobsinger, and Hannah Georgas adding their voices. The music still has rich layers of horns, guitars, and electronics, but now the melodies are more noticeable.
In June, they’ll start the “All the Feelings” tour with Metric and Stars, three Canadian bands on one bill. The tour visits Austin, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, and Brooklyn, finishing in Toronto on August 7th. If you can only see one show, make it the Toronto date.
Broken Social Scene has always felt more like a community than just a band, and Remember the Humans keeps that spirit alive. This album comes from people who had something real to share and waited for the right moment. After nine years and two major losses, they returned when they had something meaningful to give. That’s what matters most.
