The Most Serene Republic: Population

The Most Serene Republic's Underwater Cinematographer followed the Broken Social Scene mass-collectivist playbook, tempered by a restless spirit that had bandleader Adrian Jewett cramming a half-dozen ideas into every song, rather than working any one out fully. The band's second album Population continues to overstuff, beefing up complicated, prog-oriented melodies with an explosion of sound even denser than the debut. The approach is undeniably exciting, especially on songs like "Compliance" and "Present Of Future End," where the individual pieces are strong enough to withstand being crammed together willy-nilly. But too many tracks have been tinkered with unnecessarily, forced into muddled structures that are too busy to properly introduce themselves.