Kevin Drew - Spirit If…

Canadian indie darling Kevin Drew, bandleader of Broken Social Scene, offered the first taste of his solo fruits in Spirit If… in late September of 2007. For all of the chaos, controversy and cacophony that ebbs and flows from the very core of this supergroup, and that which music critics love to either salivate or whine over, I believe that despite a few over-the-toppities, KD has something slickly original to lend to the ears of his listeners here.

The daunting, organic opening track, “Farewell to the Pressure Kids”, starts as a somber Mellotron appetizer that breaks its belt into a whimsical catastrophe of carousel-esque sounds, guitars, reverb and percussion. It’s almost if KD, himself, is saying farewell to the pressure of big band life, record executives and the corporate music scene while delving into something simpler: “Well the pressure kids…they own asphalt, they won’t roll the die…”

Despite driveling on himself from time to time, with his constant stream of consciousness lyrical flow, Drew focuses well on the two things he loves to write about most: sex and society. “Lucky Ones” is probably one of the most well constructed songs that I have heard in years. The simple opening of a distant, ringing guitar blends perfectly with a Justin Peroff straight-gunning drum track. In true Kevin Drew bleeding heart-artist style, lyrical sonnetry, he spills his guts about the tension of loving someone he is close to:

“All of your words came down like your spies/
Trickled through the morphine and tried to make a crime/
I don’t expect to suggest that we’re through/
You know I can live without you if you do…”

Aside from a few shiners, though, this album is not a standout achievement by any stretch. Kevin Drew’s constant clinging to a teenage era is accented by his constant musical hero-worship of J Mascis who personally lends his signature guitar tone to the album single “Backed Out On The…” The song itself actually lacks originality and almost sounds like something Mascis himself would have released in 1991 as a Dinosaur Jr. b-side.

Overall, though, Spirit If… still begs you to spin it more and more as you let it play longer in your system. In the end, the good still outweighs the mediocre and this album sounds different sonically than most contemporary musical acts of today.