Broken Social Scene Remember The Humans
Broken Social Scene's Remember The Humans arrives as a clear-minded reunion that threads grief and communal joy into a porous, often ecstatic band statement. Critics point to a renewed songwriting focus and textural layering that let quieter moments breathe while collective spontaneity fuels the record's bigger, celebr
The best song, "Parking Lot Dreams," is best because it feels enormous while using sparse, intimate arrangements.
Praise centers on the album's communal orchestration, youthful spark, and moments of genuine release, though some critics find crowded compositions occasionally diffuse momentum.
Best for listeners looking for nostalgia and communal orchestration, starting with Parking Lot Dreams and Relief.
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Full consensus notes
Broken Social Scene's Remember The Humans arrives as a clear-minded reunion that threads grief and communal joy into a porous, often ecstatic band statement. Critics point to a renewed songwriting focus and textural layering that let quieter moments breathe while collective spontaneity fuels the record's bigger, celebratory swells, so the consensus suggests the collection is worth listening to for longtime fans and newcomers alike.
Across 10 professional reviews the album earned a 77.3/100 consensus score, with reviewers consistently praising the interplay between melancholy and hope. Several critics single out “Not Around Anymore” as the pulsing opener and emotional fulcrum, while “Relief” and “Only The Good I Keep” recur as standout tracks for their cathartic warmth and duet-driven intimacy. Other frequent mentions include “Parking Lot Dreams” and “Mission Accomplished (Kingfisher)”, and writers note David Newfeld's reunion with the band as key to the record's kinetic production and layered arrangements.
Praise centers on the album's communal orchestration, youthful spark, and moments of genuine release, though some critics find crowded compositions occasionally diffuse momentum. The critical consensus frames Remember The Humans as a successful revival - a record that balances nostalgia with forward motion, where textured instrumentation and focused songwriting often lift the best songs. For readers searching for a concise verdict or the best songs on Remember The Humans, the critical narrative points to “Not Around Anymore”, “Relief” and “Only The Good I Keep” as the tracks most likely to linger.
Below, the full reviews unpack why the band’s reunion yields both tenderness and raucous communal energy, and what that means for Broken Social Scene’s place in their catalog.
Critics' Top Tracks
The standout songs that made critics take notice
Parking Lot Dreams
1 mention
"it feels absolutely enormous, even when hardly anything is happening"— Paste Magazine
Relief
3 mentions
"Lisa Lobsinger administers much-needed "Relief", which deserves inoculation into their setlist."— The Line of Best Fit
Only The Good I Keep
2 mentions
"the Broken Social Scene debut of Vancouver indie-pop artist Hannah Georgas, is a warm bath"— Paste Magazine
Flute, trombone, flugel horn, birdsong and a squiggly guitar rush without overwhelming album opener "Not Around Anymore", which quickly settles into a groove
Track Ratings
How critics rated each track, relative to this album (0-100). Only tracks that made critics feel something are rated.
Not Around Anymore
Only The Good I Keep
Mission Accomplished (Kingfisher)
The Call
Relief
And I Think Of You
This Briefest Kiss
Life Within The Ground
Hey Amanda
Paying For Your Love
What Happens Now
Parking Lot Dreams
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What Critics Are Saying
Deep insights from 14 critics who reviewed this album
Critic's Take
Broken Social Scene's Remember The Humans often feels like communal uplift rendered in miniature and vast sweep, and the best songs prove that paradox. “Parking Lot Dreams” is the twinkly closing centerpiece that feels absolutely enormous even when hardly anything is happening, and “Not Around Anymore” acts as a full-on bear hug, Newfeld's production making drums and voices pogo with giddy warmth. The mid-tempo “Only The Good I Keep” is a warm bath with subtly bizarre presentation, while “Relief” hits like a pure release of pent-up angst. In short, the best tracks on Remember The Humans land because they marry sparse emotional clarity with maximalist, microscopic sonic drama.
Key Points
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The best song, "Parking Lot Dreams," is best because it feels enormous while using sparse, intimate arrangements.
Themes
Critic's Take
Broken Social Scene return with Remember The Humans, an album whose first blush is sheer momentum and communal joy, and the best songs prove it. The opener, “Not Around Anymore”, pulses with pent-up energy and reassures that passing time is okay, setting the tone for standout moments. Lisa Lobsinger absolutely drives the incredible “Relief”, a track that showcases the record's layered textures and symphonic pleasures. Justin Peroff's drumming propels “The Call” into one of the album's most churning highlights, and Feist's touch on “What Happens Now” registers as one of the loveliest turns here. This is an excellent Broken Social Scene record, one of their best, because the band sounds hungry again and the communal interplay makes the best tracks soar.
Key Points
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The opener “Not Around Anymore” is best for its pulsing energy and triumphant reassurance.
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The album's core strengths are communal interplay, textured arrangements, and revived hunger.
Themes
Critic's Take
On Broken Social Scene's Remember The Humans the reviewer latches onto the songwriting axis that has sustained the group, praising the deep melancholy and eighties fuzz of standout moments such as “Mission Accomplished (Kingfisher)” and the reflective “The Call”. The tone is measured and affectionate, noting that the record swivels back to Kevin Drew and Brendan Canning's songwriting, with experimental flourishes that never overwhelm the emotional throughline. As a result, queries about the best songs on Remember The Humans find answers in these intimate, elegiac tracks that balance wistfulness with small bursts of sonic invention.
Key Points
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The best song is a track praised as a standout for its eighties fuzz and lead vocal prominence.
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The album's core strengths are focused songwriting, melancholy vocals, and tasteful experimental touches.
Themes
mu
Re
Critic's Take
On Broken Social Scene's Remember The Humans the best songs show the band balancing memory and mischief, and tracks like “Only The Good I Keep”, “Relief” and “This Briefest Kiss” stand out. Will Yarbrough's prose is affectionate and precise, noting how Hannah Georgas "steals the spotlight" on “Only The Good I Keep” and how Lisa Lobsinger's nervous charm gives “Relief” necessary spark. He highlights the album's spontaneity and instrumental flourishes - flutes, trumpet and sax that make “This Briefest Kiss” luxuriate in smoky jazz. The result is not a return to past glories but a welcome, memorable reminder of why Broken Social Scene endears itself to listeners.
Key Points
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Hannah Georgas's vocal turn on "Only The Good I Keep" is the album's clearest standout.
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The album's strengths lie in its spontaneous arrangements and rich instrumentation rather than nostalgia.
Themes
Fa
Critic's Take
Broken Social Scene return on Remember the Humans with a buoyant, communal energy that leans into reconnection and grief in equal measure. Tom Taylor praises the anthemic opener, calling “Not Around Anymore” the album high point, and he frames that track as emblematic of the record's hopeful horns and joyful get-together feel. The review highlights recurring crowded compositions and gathering tempos that sometimes mute momentum, but insists the band retain a knack for emotional weight in lilting melodies. For readers asking about the best songs on Remember the Humans, “Not Around Anymore” is presented as the standout, the track that best captures the album's strengths and shortcomings.
Key Points
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The album's best song is “Not Around Anymore” because the reviewer calls it the anthemic opener and the record's high point.
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Remember The Humans' core strengths are its hopeful horns, communal ensemble sound, and emotional weight in its melodies.
Themes
Critic's Take
In his conversational, detail-rich tone Alex Hudson celebrates Broken Social Scene’s Remember The Humans as a record with a youthful spark and sturdier songwriting. He singles out “Only The Good I Keep” for its fluttering duet energy with Hannah Georgas, and “What Happens Now” as a yearning sprawl that reunites Feist, making them the best tracks on Remember The Humans. Hudson frames the album as more streamlined than You Forgot It in People, less indulgent and more about ol’ fashioned songwriting, which is why listeners searching for the best songs on Remember The Humans will find those two moments most rewarding.
Key Points
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The best song is "Only The Good I Keep" because its fluttering duet encapsulates the album's youthful spark.
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The album's core strength is its move toward streamlined, ol' fashioned songwriting while retaining vintage BSS longing.
Themes
Critic's Take
The review does not discuss any songs from Remember The Humans, so there are no best songs on Remember The Humans to highlight. Because the critic focuses entirely on Car Seat Headrest and Teens of Denial, there are no track-level appraisals for Broken Social Scene here.
Key Points
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No tracks from the provided album are discussed, so no best song can be identified.
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The review focuses on themes of youthful transition and self-deprecation in a different album, leaving this album unanalyzed.
Critic's Take
In her measured, affectionate tone Nina Corcoran presents Broken Social Scene’s Remember the Humans as a patient, communal triumph that highlights the best songs through extended jams and quiet revelation. She singles out “Not Around Anymore” as emblematic of the album’s sweep and identifies “Only The Good I Keep” and “Relief” as moments where the band’s warmth and catharsis crystallize. The narrative stays rooted in friendship and humility, arguing that the best tracks on Remember the Humans trade immediacy for cushioned, soulful expanses that reward attentive listening. Corcoran’s voice is conversational and observant, letting specific songs exemplify the record’s larger themes rather than dominate them.
Key Points
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“Not Around Anymore” is best because it embodies the album’s recurring themes and lifts Drew’s grief into communal triumph.
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The album’s core strengths are its sense of friendship, extended jams, and nuanced balance of stillness and catharsis.
Critic's Take
Broken Social Scene sound like they are reuniting with old instincts on Remember the Humans, and the review spotlights a pair of immediate highs. The writeup emphasizes “Hey Amanda” as a buoyant second single and treats “Not Around Anymore” as a quirky, ethereal preview, both positioned as the best tracks on Remember the Humans for their energy and signature indie-weirdo charm. The tone is celebratory and slightly reverent, noting the return of David Newfeld and the personal losses behind the record, which also colors why these songs land. Overall, the reviewer pitches those two songs as the clearest standouts and the main reasons to seek the album out.
Key Points
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The best song is “Hey Amanda” because it’s the buoyant second single that fully embraces the band’s signature indie-weirdo charm.
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The album’s core strengths are reunion energy, collaborative spirit, and songs shaped by personal loss and nostalgia.