Hug of Thunder
Studio album by
Broken Social Scene
ReleasedJuly 7, 2017
GenreIndie rock, baroque pop
Length52:19
LabelArts & Crafts
Producer
  • Jim Chiccarelli
  • Nyles Spencer
Broken Social Scene chronology
Forgiveness Rock Record
(2010)		 Hug of Thunder
(2017)		 Let's Try the After (Vol. 1)
(2019)

Hug of Thunder is the fifth studio album by Canadian indie rock musical collective Broken Social Scene.[1] It was released by the Arts & Crafts record label on July 7, 2017.[2]

Background

After declaring a hiatus in September 2011, Broken Social Scene performed at the Field Trip Arts & Crafts Music Festival in 2013 and played a few other festivals in 2015, which prompted band members Kevin Drew, Brendan Canning, Charles Spearin, Justin Peroff, and Andrew Whiteman to discuss recording new material. "When we're working, we understand that there will be a lot more input, so we leave space in the music as we're writing it," Spearin said. "We would send out invitations for all the usual crew, and say, 'Hey, we're doing this again. Would you be interested in being part of this?'" In the end, eighteen musicians were credited on Hug of Thunder. During sessions for the album, Feist conceived the idea for the title track, her first lead vocal on a Broken Social Scene song since 2006.[3] Drew explained that the title represents "exactly who we are. That is our show. We're trying to create that hug of thunder. That sound. That embrace amongst the chaos."[4]

Reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?7.3/10[5]
Metacritic76/100[6]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
The A.V. ClubB+[7]
The Guardian[8]
The Independent[9]
The Irish Times[10]
Mojo[11]
Pitchfork8.4/10[12]
Q[13]
Rolling Stone[14]
Uncut8/10[15]

Hug of Thunder received positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 76, based on 30 reviews.[6]

Accolades

Publication Accolade Year Rank Ref.
Diffuser Top 25 Albums of 2017
2017
9
Drowned in Sound Top 100 Albums of 2017
2017
58
Time Out New York Top 29 Albums of 2017
2017
9
Under the Radar Top 100 Albums of 2017
2017
11
Vulture Top 10 Albums of 2017
2017
10

Track listing

Hug of Thunder[1]
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Sol Luna"
  • Brendan Canning
  • Kevin Drew
  • Shawndra Everett
1:20
2."Halfway Home"
4:41
3."Protest Song"
4:18
4."Skyline"
  • Canning
  • Drew
  • Peroff
  • Spearin
  • Whiteman
4:10
5."Stay Happy"
  • Canning
  • Drew
  • Engle
  • Peroff
  • Spearin
  • Whiteman
4:10
6."Vanity Pail Kids"
  • Canning
  • Drew
  • Peroff
  • Spearin
  • Whiteman
4:01
7."Hug of Thunder"
  • Canning
  • Drew
  • Feist
  • Peroff
  • Spearin
  • Whiteman
4:54
8."Towers and Masons"
  • Canning
  • Drew
  • Engle
  • Peroff
  • Spearin
  • Whiteman
4:01
9."Victim Lover"
4:55
10."Please Take Me with You"
  • Canning
  • Drew
  • Peroff
  • Spearin
  • Whiteman
4:54
11."Gonna Get Better"
  • Canning
  • Drew
  • Engle
  • Peroff
  • Spearin
  • Whiteman
5:11
12."Mouth Guards of the Apocalypse"
  • Canning
  • Cranley
  • Drew
  • Sam Goldberg
  • Peroff
  • Jimmy Shaw
  • Spearin
  • Whiteman
5:44

Personnel

Musicians

  • Ohad Benchetrit – slide guitar (2, 5, 8, 9, 11), electric guitar (9)
  • Brendan Canning – bass guitar (2-5, 7, 8), background vocals (2, 3, 6, 8, 9), synth (3, 9, 10), electric guitar (5, 6, 10, 12), bass synth (7, 10, 11), piano (7, 10), acoustic guitar (8), guitar loops (8, 11), lead vocals (8), vocals (10)
  • Joe Chiccarelli – drum programming (7, 10, 11)
  • Evan Cranley – trombone (2, 4-6, 9, 12), electric guitar (6)
  • Kevin Drew – background vocals (2, 4, 6), lead vocals (2, 4, 6, 10-12), vocals (3), acoustic guitar (2-4, 10), electric guitar (2, 3, 5, 8, 12), piano (2, 5-7, 12), drums (3), percussion (3, 5, 8), bass synth (3, 8, 11), electronic drums (3, 9, 10), beat box (5), sound effects (6), synth (6, 7, 10, 11), B3 organ (7), bass guitar (8, 10), Nord strings (8, 11, 12), Rhodes (9), keyboard (12)
  • Ariel Engle – background vocals (2, 5, 11), lead vocals (2, 11), vocals (5, 6, 8, 10)
  • Shawn Everett – background vocals, synth (8)
  • Feist - background vocals (2, 7), vocals (5, 6), lead vocals (7), Baldwin keys (7), organ (7)
  • David French – saxophone (2, 6, 8, 9), flute (5)
  • Sam Goldberg – keytar (5), electric guitar (6, 11, 12)
  • Emily Haines – background vocals (3), lead vocals (3), vocals (6)
  • Julia Hambleton – clarinet (2, 5, 6, 8, 9)
  • Lisa Lobsinger – vocals (8, 9)
  • Dave Manelin – vocals (6)
  • Roger Manning – vocoder (4)
  • Amy Millan – background vocals (2, 4, 11), vocals (9)
  • Julie Penner – violin (5)
  • Justin Peroff – drums (2-12), percussion (4, 9, 10)
  • Jimmy Shaw – trumpet (2, 4, 12)
  • Charles Spearin - electric guitar (2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 12), nyckelharpa (2, 12), Hammertone guitar (3, 4), synth (4, 10), bass synth (5, 9), background vocals (6), air spray percussion (7), Melotron guitar (7, 12), drum machine (10), Farfisa organ (10), slide guitar (10), B3 organ (10, 11), trumpet (11)
  • Nyles Spencer – sampler (7-9, 11), bass synth (10)
  • Andrew Whiteman – electric guitar (2-6, 8-10), synth (2, 4, 6, 7, 10-12), vocals (4, 10), drum machine (5, 7, 8, 10-12), acoustic guitar (7, 12), fuzz bass (8), background vocals (9), tres guitar (9), bass synth (12)

Technical

  • Joe Chiccarelli – production
  • Nyles Spencer – production
  • Shawn Everett – mixing
  • Emily Lazar – mastering
  • Chris Allgood – mastering assistance

Charts

Chart (2017) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA Hitseekers)[21] 3
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[22] 102
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[23] 14
Scottish Albums (OCC)[24] 51
US Billboard 200[25] 96
US Independent Albums (Billboard)[26] 3
US Top Alternative Albums (Billboard)[27] 11
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[28] 17

References

  1. 1 2 3 Monger, James Christopher. "Hug of Thunder – Broken Social Scene". AllMusic. Retrieved July 8, 2017.
  2. ↑ "Broken Social Scene – Hug of Thunder". Arts & Crafts Productions. Retrieved July 8, 2017.
  3. ↑ Gordon, Jeremy (July 6, 2017). "Broken Social Scene: Friends Forever". Spin. Retrieved July 6, 2017.
  4. ↑ Dombal, Ryan (June 27, 2017). "Broken Social Scene Are (Somehow) Still Friends After All These Years". Pitchfork. Retrieved June 27, 2017.
  5. ↑ "Hug of Thunder by Broken Social Scene reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved January 7, 2020.
  6. 1 2 "Reviews and Tracks for Hug of Thunder by Broken Social Scene". Metacritic. Retrieved July 10, 2017.
  7. ↑ Adams, Erik (July 5, 2017). "Broken Social Scene recaptures its strength in numbers on 'Hug of Thunder'". The A.V. Club. Retrieved July 5, 2017.
  8. ↑ Beaumont-Thomas, Ben (July 7, 2017). "Broken Social Scene: Hug of Thunder review – invigorating emotional anthems". The Guardian. Retrieved July 7, 2017.
  9. ↑ Gill, Andy (July 5, 2017). "Album reviews: Haim – Something to Tell You, Calvin Harris – Funk Wav Bounces Vol. 1, Offa Rex – The Queen of Hearts". The Independent. Retrieved January 7, 2020.
  10. ↑ Kane, Siobhan (July 6, 2017). "Broken Social Scene: Hug of Thunder – an embrace amongst the chaos". The Irish Times. Retrieved January 7, 2020.
  11. ↑ Perry, Andrew (August 2017). "Broken Social Scene: Hug of Thunder". Mojo (285): 88.
  12. ↑ Cohen, Ian (July 10, 2017). "Broken Social Scene: Hug of Thunder Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved July 10, 2017.
  13. ↑ Barton, Laura (August 2017). "The Gang's All Here". Q (375): 103.
  14. ↑ Dolan, Jon (July 27, 2017). "Review: Broken Social Scene Roars Back Unto the Breach". Rolling Stone. Retrieved January 7, 2020.
  15. ↑ Anderson, Jason (August 4, 2017). "Broken Social Scene – Hug of Thunder". Uncut. Archived from the original on August 6, 2017. Retrieved January 7, 2020.
  16. ↑ Wawzenek, Bryan (December 15, 2017). "Diffuser's Top 25 Album of 2017". Diffuser.fm. Retrieved June 8, 2018.
  17. ↑ Adams, Sean (December 3, 2017). "Drowned in Sound's Favourite Albums of 2017". Archived from the original on November 23, 2017. Retrieved June 8, 2018.
  18. ↑ "29 Best Albums of 2017 You Need to Know". Timeout.com. December 11, 2017. Retrieved June 8, 2018.
  19. ↑ "Under the Radar's Top 100 Albums of 2017". Undertheradarmag.com. December 30, 2017. Retrieved June 8, 2018.
  20. ↑ Jenkins, Craig (December 4, 2017). "The 10 Best Albums of 2017". Vulture.com. Retrieved June 8, 2018.
  21. ↑ "ARIA Report: Issue 1430" (PDF). ARIA. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 25, 2017. Retrieved November 17, 2023.
  22. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Broken Social Scene – Hug of Thunder" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved July 21, 2017.
  23. ↑ "Broken Social Scene Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved January 7, 2020.
  24. ↑ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved July 15, 2017.
  25. ↑ "Broken Social Scene Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved July 18, 2017.
  26. ↑ "Broken Social Scene Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved July 18, 2017.
  27. ↑ "Broken Social Scene Chart History (Top Alternative Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved July 18, 2017.
  28. ↑ "Broken Social Scene Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved July 18, 2017.
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