Drew leads Toronto scene with 'Spirit If...'

By Joey Vergara

Published Sept. 18, 2007

Broken Social Scene head honcho Kevin Drew is getting to that point in his career where his name means more than his actual music. He's not by any means producing horrible records, but things are getting a little messy, even for a guy that has sung about handjobs and swallowing.

The first in the Broken Social Scene Presents... series, in which members of the incestuous music collective get a chance to produce a solo record with the added bonus of BSS name recognition, Drew's Spirit If... isn't much of a departure from his previous projects in some ways. The lyrics are still as abstract as anything by Picasso. The production is spacey and leaves plenty of room for mistakes.

Similarities in style and guest appearances aside, Spirit If... really isn't a BSS record in disguise. Recorded over the last two years in Do Make Say Think's Ohad Benchetrit's basement, Spirit If... allowed Drew to shed the collaborative spirit of the Toronto music collective in favor of showcasing his personal musical interests.

When Drew isn't making a bunch of noise (see opener "Farewell To the Pressure Kids") and leaving his records almost in a disarray, the capable songwriter beneath all of the hype comes out.

"Backed Out On The..." couldn't be any catchier. Featuring Dinosaur Jr.'s J Mascis, on guitar and drums, and Metric drummer Joules Scott-Key, the song launches right into its bombastic glory with swirling, distorted lead guitar. It's songs like this that prove Drew's status as an indie legend.

The best thing about Kevin Drew is his ability to function outside any sort of preconceptions people might have about his music. He'll whisper one song ("Gang Bang Suicide") and then start a Beck-esque half-rap that coalesces into one of the best, if rather unexpected, songs on the album ("Frightening Lives"). Even more out of left field is "When It Begins," the closest thing Drew has gotten to alt-country yet.

In his own crude way, Drew has always been a romantic at heart. Moving on from "Handjobs for the Holidays" and "Lover's Spit," Drew sings "TBTF" ("too beautiful to fuck") with the gentlest of voices. Like many of his songs, the tender music makes his backward, compliment-filled lyrics just that much less coarse.

Where Drew fails to make Spirit If... a better album is in his insistence on remaining unpolished.

There is definitely more of a softer side to the album than real BSS, but all the off notes and cacophonous noise do eventually take their toll. "Aging Faces/Losing Places" and "Bodhi Sappy Weekend" sound too much alike, one after another with so much fuzz coated on.

On the one hand, Drew loses some of the magic that makes BSS's albums so enthralling when doing things on his own. On the other, Spirit If... allows fans to see just exactly what great things he brings to the table.

If there was ever a man to lead the Toronto scene, it's Kevin Drew.