How many Canadians does it take to make Indie Rock?

When I was younger, Canadian indie rock was not something to be taken seriously. Back before the term indie was in use -- and we referred, without irony, to non- mainstream music as alternative, the best of the bunch was Moxy Fruvus. And I didn't like the band one bit. They were the lesser evil to the intolerable Bare Naked Ladies ("One Week" is the stuff of nightmares, really). Indie music to these bands was an opportunity to tell jokes and show off (witless) wit.

During the last decade, though, Canadians have been a lot more serious about their music. The bands that have been able to catch on here "in the south" are among some of the best and most innovative indie bands at work anywhere. Arcade Fire, New Pornographers and Neko Case are well known. Lesser known acts like Galaxy 500, Hayden and The Dears have released some thoroughly enjoyable material.

Among the best of this group is the collaborative Broken Social Scene, which released it's fourth studio album Forgiveness Rock Record early last week. Like the New Pornographers, Broken Social Scene is a shape-shifting lineup led by Kevin Drew and Brendan Canning. On tour, they can have between seven and twelve musicians. Some have been famous in their own right, like Leslie Feist, whose Remainder you likely heard on XPN a few years back.

What's interesting about BSS is not the sheer size of the band (which is as large as fellow Canadians Arcade Fire) or that it is composed of members who have other successful projects (like New Pornographers). Unlike their fellow Canadian indie powerhouses, BSS do not have "a sound." Each track on Forgiveness Rock Record is different from the one before it. There are hoppy pop numbers, synth-driven electro dance numbers, messy guitar rockers and sleepy acoustic jams. It's as if Drew and Canning decided to form an ensemble that would review indie sounds of the last 20 years. The record could be an indie single mix tape or a soundtrack to the latest Zooey Deschanel film.

A similar lack of focus might doom other bands, but BSS pull it off successfully on Forgiveness. In fact, they have experience with this sort of thing. The band's second album, its breakthrough You Forgot it in People was a similarly diverse outing. The strength of both of these records is in the songs. They may not be thematically coherent, but each song is quite strong. It would be tough to pick a single off of Forgiveness Rock Record, particularly from the first eight tracks, all of which are really quite terrific. High points early are the poppy "Texico Bitches," the rocking "Forced to Love" and the sweet electropop number "All to All," sung by Lisa Lobsinger.

Forgiveness Rock Record does, however, seem to slow down in the second half. The songs are good, but do not have the same intensity as the first half of the record. "Sentimental X's" and "Romance to the Grave" are good, but overlong. Lyrically the songs are vague and the ideas behind the songs nearly impenetrable. With a little tightening, the record might have been much better in total.

So far, Forgiveness Rock Record is a great listen by a band that can do nearly anything it wants. It seems there's not a trick in recorded music that these guys can't pull off. It sounds great over a nice pair of speakers. It could be the best Canadian album this year, its status threatened primarily by expectations of a new Arcade Fire album sometime in 2010.