Hug of Thunder

Hug of Thunder is the fifth studio album by Canadian indie rock musical collective Broken Social Scene.[1] It was released by the Arts & Crafts record label on July 7, 2017.[2]

Hug of Thunder
Studio album by Broken Social Scene
Released	July 7, 2017
Genre	Indie rock, baroque pop
Length	52:19
Label	Arts & Crafts
Broken Social Scene chronology
Forgiveness Rock Record (2010) Hug of Thunder (2017) Let’s Try the After - Vol. 1 (2019)

Background

After declaring a hiatus in September 2011, Broken Social Scene performed at the Field Trip Arts & Crafts Music Festival in 2013 and a couple of festivals in 2015, the latter of which prompted band members Kevin Drew, Brendan Canning, Charles Spearin, Justin Peroff, and Andrew Whiteman to discuss recording new material. "When we're working, we understand that there will be a lot more input, so we leave space in the music as we're writing it," Spearin said. "We would send out invitations for all the usual crew, and say, 'Hey, we're doing this again. Would you be interested in being part of this?'" In the end, 18 musicians were credited on Hug of Thunder. During sessions for the album, Leslie Feist conceived the idea for the title track, her first lead vocal on a Broken Social Scene song since 2006.[3] Drew explained that the title represents "exactly who we are. That is our show. We’re trying to create that hug of thunder. That sound. That embrace amongst the chaos."[4]

Reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
AnyDecentMusic?	7.3/10[5]
Metacritic	76/100[6]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
The A.V. Club	B+[7]
The Guardian	[8]
The Independent	[9]
The Irish Times	[10]
Mojo	[11]
Pitchfork	8.4/10[12]
Q	[13]
Rolling Stone	[14]
Uncut	8/10[15]

Hug of Thunder received positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 76, based on 30 reviews.[6]

Accolades

Publication	Accolade	Year	Rank	Ref.
Diffuser	Top 25 Albums of 2017	2017	9	[16]
Drowned in Sound	Top 100 Albums of 2017	2017	58	[17]
Time Out New York	Top 29 Albums of 2017	2017	9	[18]
Under the Radar	Top 100 Albums of 2017	2017	11	[19]
Vulture	Top 10 Albums of 2017	2017	10	[20]

Track listing

Hug of Thunder[1]

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Sol Luna"	Brendan Canning, Kevin Drew, Shawndra Everett	1:20
2.	"Halfway Home"	Canning, Drew, Ariel Engle, Justin Peroff, Charles Spearin, Andrew Whiteman	4:41
3.	"Protest Song"	Canning, Drew, Emily Haines, Peroff, Spearin, Whiteman	4:18
4.	"Skyline"	Canning, Drew, Peroff, Spearin, Whiteman	4:11
5.	"Stay Happy"	Canning, Drew, Engle, Peroff, Spearin, Whiteman	4:11
6.	"Vanity Pail Kids"	Canning, Drew, Peroff, Spearin, Whiteman	3:59
7.	"Hug of Thunder"	Canning, Drew, Leslie Feist, Peroff, Spearin, Whiteman	4:54
8.	"Towers and Masons"	Canning, Drew, Engle, Peroff, Spearin, Whiteman	4:01
9.	"Victim Lover"	Canning, Evan Cranley, Drew, Peroff, Spearin, Whiteman	4:55
10.	"Please Take Me with You"	Canning, Drew, Peroff, Spearin, Whiteman	4:54
11.	"Gonna Get Better"	Canning, Drew, Engle, Peroff, Spearin, Whiteman	5:11
12.	"Mouth Guards of the Apocalypse"	Canning, Cranley, Drew, Sam Goldberg, Peroff, Jimmy Shaw, Spearin, Whiteman	5:44

Charts

Chart (2017)	Peak position
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[21]	102
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[22]	14
Scottish Albums (OCC)[23]	51
US Billboard 200[24]	96
US Independent Albums (Billboard)[25]	3
US Top Alternative Albums (Billboard)[26]	11
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[27]	17

References

1. Monger, James Christopher. "Hug of Thunder – Broken Social Scene". AllMusic. Retrieved July 8, 2017.
2. "Broken Social Scene – Hug Of Thunder". Arts & Crafts Productions. Retrieved July 8, 2017.
3. Gordon, Jeremy (July 6, 2017). "Broken Social Scene: Friends Forever". Spin. Retrieved July 6, 2017.
4. Dombal, Ryan (June 27, 2017). "Broken Social Scene Are (Somehow) Still Friends After All These Years". Pitchfork. Retrieved June 27, 2017.
5. "Hug Of Thunder by Broken Social Scene reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved January 7, 2020.
6. "Reviews and Tracks for Hug of Thunder by Broken Social Scene". Metacritic. Retrieved July 10, 2017.
7. Adams, Erik (July 5, 2017). "Broken Social Scene recaptures its strength in numbers on 'Hug Of Thunder'". The A.V. Club. Retrieved July 5, 2017.
8. Beaumont-Thomas, Ben (July 7, 2017). "Broken Social Scene: Hug of Thunder review – invigorating emotional anthems". The Guardian. Retrieved July 7, 2017.
9. Gill, Andy (July 5, 2017). "Album reviews: Haim – Something To Tell You, Calvin Harris – Funk Wav Bounces Vol. 1, Offa Rex – The Queen Of Hearts". The Independent. Retrieved January 7, 2020.
10. Kane, Siobhan (July 6, 2017). "Broken Social Scene: Hug of Thunder – an embrace amongst the chaos". The Irish Times. Retrieved January 7, 2020.
11. Perry, Andrew (August 2017). "Broken Social Scene: Hug of Thunder". Mojo (285): 88.
12. Cohen, Ian (July 10, 2017). "Broken Social Scene: Hug of Thunder Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved July 10, 2017.
13. Barton, Laura (August 2017). "The Gang's All Here". Q (375): 103.
14. Dolan, Jon (July 27, 2017). "Review: Broken Social Scene Roars Back Unto the Breach". Rolling Stone. Retrieved January 7, 2020.
15. Anderson, Jason (August 4, 2017). "Broken Social Scene – Hug Of Thunder". Uncut. Archived from the original on August 6, 2017. Retrieved January 7, 2020.
16. Wawzenek, Bryan (December 15, 2017). "Diffuser's Top 25 Album of 2017". Diffuser.fm. Retrieved June 8, 2018.
17. Adams, Sean (December 3, 2017). "Drowned in Sound's Favourite Albums of 2017". Retrieved June 8, 2018.
18. "29 Best Albums of 2017 You Need To Know". Timeout.com. December 11, 2017. Retrieved June 8, 2018.
19. "Under the Radar's Top 100 Albums of 2017". Undertheradarmag.com. December 30, 2017. Retrieved June 8, 2018.
20. Jenkins, Craig (December 4, 2017). "The 10 Best Albums of 2017". Vulture.com. Retrieved June 8, 2018.
21. "Ultratop.be – Broken Social Scene – Hug of Thunder" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved July 21, 2017.
22. "Broken Social Scene Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved January 7, 2020.
23. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved July 15, 2017.
24. "Broken Social Scene Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved July 18, 2017.
25. "Broken Social Scene Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved July 18, 2017.
26. "Broken Social Scene Chart History (Top Alternative Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved July 18, 2017.
27. "Broken Social Scene Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved July 18, 2017.