Something for All of Us...

AMG Review of Something for All of Us...

James Christopher Monger
All Music Guide

Brendan Canning, the bearded and bespectacled bassist (hooray for alliteration!) and co-founder of Canadian indie rock superheroes Broken Social Scene tossed his hat into the BSS side project machine with the aptly-titled Something for All of Us..., a loose collection of singalongs, lo- and hi-fi rockers, groove-oriented toe-tappers and fuzzed-out, psych-folk laments that echo the 2007 "Broken Social Scene Presents" offering Spirit If... put forth by bandmate Kevin Drew. Vocally, Canning is the Elliott Smith of the group, but without all of the gut-twisting, black hole despair, and while his compositions may lack Drew's lyrical, classic-pop conciseness, they revel in the meandering, post-rock inclusiveness that has marked some BSS' most epic tracks. From the feedback-laden intro of the album's namesake through the warm and contemplative Dennis Wilson-esque closer "Take Care, Look Up," Canning positions himself as more of a conductor than a front man, allowing the small army of friends and BSS' alumni the room to throw around their collective weight. At its best, like on the string-swollen "Chameleon" and the twinkling, dub-lite instrumental "All the Best Wooden Toys Come from Germany," Something for All of Us... manages to connect without really saying much, which is tough to pull off, even for a veteran of one of the underground rock league's most beloved teams. And while concern for the fate of the band may increase with each new solo project, fans would be hard to pressed to find a better, more satisfying set of tribute records than those put forth by Drew, Jason Collett, Andrew Whiteman, Leslie Feist, and now, Brendan Canning.