Broken Social Scene

If Broken Social Scene’s You Forgot It In People has been Toronto’s swinging dance party, Bee Hives is their chill-out room, a morning-after, slippers and bathrobe collection of quiet beauty. Officially a collection of b-sides, it collects (and connects) the recordings that marked the band’s evolution from Feel Good Lost, the first offering from post-rocking duo Brendan Canning and Kevin Drew, into the multi-headed monster of good vibrations we know today. Many of the band’s extended family drop by to sing a song, bang a drum, strum a string or just connect to their community, including Leslie Feist and Metric’s Emily Haines, as well as the band that now forms the core of their extended community (Andrew Whiteman, Justin Peroff, Charles Spearin). Many of these songs are a step to the left of YFIIP’s pop-rock accessibility, but what’s marvellous about Bee Hives is how coherently it hangs together while still managing a few surprises in its journey. It’s a meandering, Sunday morning walk in the woods after revelling in the night before.