For most of my life, I didn’t actively listen to instrumental music. I think part of me wondered what the point was when all the action was in the lyric, melody and vocal performance. I’m glad that changed for me, largely in part to Mr F, who does listen to instrumental music and introduced me to artists and styles I’d not heard before. I explored a few playlists when I needed some focus music, stumbling upon ‘Pacific Theme’ some years ago. Taken from 2002’s You Forgot It In People, it’s a nod to Broken Social Scene’s beginnings as an instrumental band. Their lineup has changed over time and resembles a Canadian supergroup with members from Metric, Feist, Stars, Do Make Say Think and others.
We begin with percussion, including bells and other synthetic drum sounds, and a cool electric piano. I struggle to pull out each element as there’s so much going on, and the various tones work so well together. A slow intro builds up to a snare fill before the guitar and drums enter. The guitar is a mainstay of the song, with the electric piano and drums rumbling along in the background.
The next section – the B section, if you will – brings in a flute melody that catches your ear for a bit. That is one of the key features of this song that I love: the combination of different instruments and textures, with nothing overstaying its welcome to keep the momentum going.
There’s a breakdown after the B section, where an acoustic guitar comes to the forefront. Next, a harmonica brings us back to the A section, layering up the guitar parts, which make the song feel expansive. I can hear the bass peeking through here, sounding warm. It’s funny how the bass has been there somewhere all along, but I can’t hear it distinctly until this moment.
The next section (C), changes up the main guitar riff and leads us to another breakdown, which is just drums and the beautiful electric piano. This makes way for a horn section, bringing back the percussion from the intro. There’s a distorted sample of people talking that sounds static-like, which is a nice backdrop.
The B section comes back in with the guitars and horns doing the heavy lifting. It feels like a beautiful ray of sunshine; there’s a tambourine, some more sonic interest with those distorted voices, before breaking down to drums.
When the drums fade away, the voices are all that’s left. This blends into the next song on the album, meant as a seamless transition.
I think this song has a timeless quality to it. It always feels welcoming and interesting, taking you on a journey and introducing you to different elements each time you hear it. Whenever this song comes on in my Instrumentical playlist (instrumental and classical music), it makes me happy and always feels fresh. I hope you find a way to incorporate this song into one of your playlists as I think it might make you happy too.