A recent review noted the tendency of today’s indie rock bands to combine large lineups with unusual instrumentation. Last night at the 9:30 Club, the Great White North’s Broken Social Scene didn’t skimp on bandmembers with seven people on stage, but gone were all the strings, kazoos, melodicas, and other assorted bells and whistles. This band was just a bunch of dudes who revel in the glory of the almighty power chord and understand that an amp sounds best when cranked to 11. The result was an energetic two-hour set of three chord, backbeat driven and testosterone infused rock.

With up to four guitars playing at any given time, in addition to keyboards, the band takes a wall of sound approach to making music. This leads to a muddiness that at points makes it difficult to discern individual instruments or vocals, but still maintains a refreshing rawness. The band keeps things musically fresh by offering different textures through tasteful use of altered instrumentation, whether it be the drummer using varied striking implements or the addition of a trumpet, and keyboard sounds that recall the analog sounds of 70s Yes and 80s New Wave.