If Broken Social Scene created a line of action figures, few would reach for Brendan Canning first. The mysterious bearded figure stays in the background, and only has vocals on a scant three tracks in their catalogue (“Stars and Sons,” “Handjobs for the Holidays” and B-side “Market Fresh”). But he gets by with a little help from his 20 friends, including Kevin Drew, The Stills’ Liam O’Neill and Land of Talk’s Liz Powell. While Canning upholds BSS’ messy freneticism with fuzzed-out guitar squeals, lush trumpet howls and happy rounds of handclaps, some arrangements feel half-baked, often at the expense of maintaining an overarching lo-fi aesthetic. Better to listen to the standouts — “Love Is New” boasts a soulful mamba matched by muted whispers, while the psychedelic “Chameleon” splatters heart-on-sleeve acoustics onto the most joyful corral of brass, percussion and multiple harmonies you’ve heard since “Lover’s Spit.” 

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