Broken Social Scene (source: NPR.org)
National Public Radio Music released on-demand streams for a couple of indie band’s new albums on Monday morning: Broken Social Scene‘s Forgiveness Rock Record and The Hold Steady‘s Heaven Is Whenever. The streams are available on NPR’s “Exclusive First Listen” series.
As I write this I’m listening to NPR’s stream of Broken Social Scene, a Canadian ensemble that went on hiatus for a while. I’m also wondering what made this band appeal to NPR’s music staff. My guess is that Broken reminds them of the Talking Heads just a bit. Certainly the band photo screams Talking Heads, as do some of the songs. But while Broken isn’t as original as the Heads, they’re certainly better musicians.
Meanwhile Hold Steady’s Heaven has a nice crossover sound, a hybrid of the later Beatles, Elvis Costello, and X.
NPR says that next Monday (April 26) it will stream three more album previews: a bunch of unreleased Kris Kristofferson songs, a new Josh Ritter album, and “the latest from indie-pop supergroup The New Pornographers”—the last no doubt part of NPR’s ongoing effort to stay edgy and risqué (or at least give it a try).
