It’s plain to see why Home Wrecking Years, Brendan Canning’s upcoming solo album out August 12 on Arts & Crafts, is touted as his first full-band album since Broken Social Scene’s Forgiveness Rock Record. After all, with Broken Social Scene on break—a break that is now over—Canning’s last solo album, You Gots 2 Chill, was a quieter, largely acoustic affair. Today, The A.V. Club is premiering “Keystone Dealers,” a track from Home Wrecking Years that shows Canning is at his most comfortable when awash in sound. It takes the laid-back nature of You Gots 2 Chill and beefs it up, using a danceable drum machine and a soothing horn section to make “Keystone Dealers” truly pop. Canning says:
Keystone dealers is the Bossa Nova moment on the record. Justin Peroff came up with the idea for the old-school drum machine and the killer horn section was led by Liam O’Neil who was recently drafted by Kings of Leon. It’s one of a few moments on the record that allows the listener some real pause and breath.
I’m pretty sure the song is me trying to find a correlation between a failed relationship and the destruction big oil leaves behind once the damage is done. Words just pop out sometimes and I’m left to sort through for meaning.
Home Wrecking Years is out August 12 on Arts & Crafts.