Broken Social Scene Plan New Songs, Spin Off 'Industrial-Goth-Hobo' Side-Project

It's been over a year since the release of Broken Social Scene's latest album, 'Forgiveness Rock Record,' and they've spent the time between concerts pursuing other projects. Individual members have kept busy, but it's been relatively quiet on the Broken Social Scene front. According to BSS mainstay Andrew Whiteman, that should change soon.

"We're thinking about September," he tells Spinner. "We're doing a lot of shows then and a lot of those are in places we've done before. As we get closer to that we'll be thinking, 'How the f--- can we serve up something new now?' Most likely we'll get together for a few days before we go and try to write some new songs then."

Though they're typically known for engulfing anyone and everyone in Canadian indie rock, 'Forgiveness Rock Record' featured Broken Social Scene's most pared down lineup yet, leading many to wonder if they had transitioned from loose-limbed "collective" to plain old "band." Whiteman denies the assumption.

"The lineup's never solid," he says. "There's no way of knowing who'll play on the next one. It's always guesswork right up until the last minute. Social Scene sometimes gets called organized chaos, but it's more like just chaos."

Watch Broken Social Scene on the Interface
Broken Social Scene is famous for its endless list of associated musical projects, many of whom have been busy in the band's downtime. Like Feist, who's reportedly releasing her next album in October, Whiteman has his mind on new material, not with his Apostle of Hustle outfit, but AroarA, a new collaborative project with his wife Ariel Engle. Whiteman plans to use the band as an outlet for his less conventional side.

"I play a fretless North African goatskin banjo and my wife plays a four-string cigar box guitar," he explains. "And I'm getting into programming dance beats."

Though they've only played a handful of shows, Whiteman already has big plans for AroarA.

"We're going to be releasing two records," he says. "I'm going to be taking a book by my favourite poet, Alice Notely, and turning her poems into lyrics. That's going to be called 'In the Pines' and it'll be a sombre, folky thing. Then, the other is AroarA proper, which will be our industrial-goth-hobo record."

Just don't expect them to promote it with any music videos.

Follow @Spinner on Twitter | Like Us on Facebook | Sign Up for Our Newsletter