Indie rockers Broken Social Scene vary their number.

It took a lot of work to arrive at the beautifully textured, post-psychedelic cacophony of "Our Faces Split the Coast in Half."

		Broken Social Scene With: Do Make Say Think. Where: Mr. Small's Theatre, Millvale. When: 8 tonight. Tickets: $25; 1-800-594-8499.

But not because of all those layers fighting for attention in the mix that kicks off Broken Social Scene's self-titled follow-up to 2002's acclaimed "You Forgot It in People." It's the parts the members didn't use.

They'd gone into the mix with 140 tracks -- or 132 more than the Beatles had at their disposal when they cut "Revolver."

While it's doubtful anyone who's followed Broken Social Scene, a Canadian indie-rock collective whose ranks can number in the upper teens when everyone's available, would find that especially shocking, even Brendan Canning will admit there are times when thinking "more is more" can make it hard to mix a record. That holds even when you're working with a guy as talented as their George Martin, David Newfeld.

"It was just madness," says Canning. "We just kept on adding things until you're literally swimming in sound and not sure when you should come up for air. Not to use a bad swimming analogy, but especially because we were working in a studio with no windows, it's hard to gain any perspective when you're not even looking outside.

"You're in this cubicle trying to figure out, 'My God, we've been playing this song for a year. Is this the best representation of this particular tune? We've recorded 140 parts. Do you think that's enough?' "

He formed the group with Kevin Drew in 1999, recording a more ambient debut called "Feel Good Lost" in 2001 with the help of some friends on the scene. It was only when they started playing out in support of the album that they felt the urge to really flesh things out, a change reflected in the more ambitious wall of sound that made "You Forgot It in People" such a cherished part of the early 21st-century indie experience.

As Canning explains the strength of numbers, "When you bring out the horns and whatnot, it's a bit more impressive than your average four-piece rock 'n' roll band. Unless you're a really fantastic four-piece rock 'n' roll band. I'm not saying there aren't examples of that, but I think having horns is an impressive thing. And having different vocalists is an impressive thing. And strings.

"It's a different sort of thing we have. It's not quite Parliament Funkadelic, but I guess it's trying to achieve what they achieved."

You might think getting all those people on the same page can't be easy. But, as Canning says, it's not as though they get 10 people in a room writing songs or mixing with their little note pads out, making demands. And while they do their best to see that everyone can feel their individual contribution to the record, in the end, they're more concerned with making sure the song has what it needs.

There's a certain logistical nightmare to putting a tour together with that many people, especially when several also play in other bands. But so far, they've managed by not worrying about who's in the room on any given date. At some shows on the tour, which brings the band to Mr. Small's tonight, they'll have eight or nine people. At other dates, they might have 12 or 13. Either way, it doesn't have that big of an impact on how Canning hears the show.

"We have a core that doesn't change too much from night to night," he says. "And everyone's played enough shows with the band that I know what Emily [Haines] is gonna bring to the party tonight. Or [Leslie] Feist. Or Jimmy [Shaw]. You definitely look forward to having certain members there to bring something special."

Still, he's thinking that approach could change soon.

"We've toured this new record and toured 'You Forgot It in People' kind of in the same fashion, with a lot of the membership in and out, in and out," says Canning. "And I think we're getting close to exhausting that whole concept of loose membership. Obviously, if certain members were around, it's not like they'd be excluded, but I think if the core can be a little more reliant, we could maybe next year just deliver something a little different.

"We're known for these anthemic, epic shows, which we can still do, but I think it can also be different, that's all."