Release Date: May 10, 2011
Secret Brain/Universal; 13 Tracks; CD
Review by: Lee Fraser
Sam Roberts Band is growing up without losing the fun factor.
Nearly a month ago, the newest release from the Sam Roberts Band hit stores and the stratosphere. Their fourth full length endeavour, this album has been receiving its fair share of press and has been well-received thus far. Long-time fans are likely wondering which of these tracks will make their way onto the playlists of rainy weekends at the cottage and back yard barbecues. Which songs will we hear on the radio a decade from now that gets our foot tapping and has us singing along?
The "old" Sam Roberts that we all know and love is the stuff of indie music folk lore. Starting off by putting out his own EP where every sound on every song was produced by himself, Sam Roberts garnered the respect of the industry and a fan base of like-minded college and university kids. Picked up by a major label, the hits of the EP were re-released on his first full-length album. Hits like "Don't Walk Away Eileen", "Brother Down" and "Where Have All The Good People Gone?" have become embedded in our collective psyche as Canadian rock and roll standards. Two subsequent albums produced a few more tunes that are instantly recognizable to the general public, songs like "Bridge to Nowhere" and "Detroit 67".
On Collider, Sam Roberts does some re-branding (now officially calling the band Sam Roberts Band), and recruited the assistance of successful producer, Brian Deck. There has been some very heavy PR hype along with this release, with appearances on Much Music, MTV, CBC's Q, Strombo's TV and radio programs, a chat with Alan Cross and radio spots across the US. Sam frequently mentions that this album is calmer and more stripped down. Acoustic guitar strumming has replaced amped up guitar riffs. Brian's Deck's background in percussion has influenced, no doubt, the deft drumming and percussion accents on many tracks.
What has not changed is the song-writing. All these years later and Sam is still producing unique yet familiar-sounding melodies. He's also still writing lyrics that catch your attention, such as "we were flushed with success, we were crushed by excess" from "Sang Froid". Other lyrics are introspective and heart-felt, such as "I'm without a map, I'm walking into a trap, there's a white flag on the wind, I surrender to the very mention of you", from "Without A Map".
Some of the tunes have a blues or soul feel to them, thanks in part to the strong horn playing. "I Feel You", the first single off the record in Canada, has one full minute of a great bluesy riff for a lead in. "The Last Crusade", the U.S. single, has a bit of a Blues Brothers feel to it. A personal favourite is "Let It In"; groovy chords, catchy melody and a fun lyric. The oddly titled "Streets of Heaven (Promises, Promises)" makes good use of the horn section as well, highlighting the chorus on an otherwise light, poppy track with some very sinister lyrics. "Tractor Beam Blues" is a nod to Sam's love of Sci Fi, specifically the original Star Trek series. Taking a cue from science non-fiction, the Large Hadron Collider (appearing inside the cover), served as inspiration for this new album, with a depiction of a proton collision on the cover.
All in all, it seems that Sam Roberts has produced a more soulful, more mature album, without losing the spirit of the Sam Roberts sound. The album provides close to an hour of quality music with no jarring shifts between genres or tempos. There are several tracks that may end up in our playlists for years to come, but for the short-term, playing the entire album, end to end as it was meant to be, is just the trick.
Sam Roberts Band is currently on tour across Canada and the U.S., and will play two shows in Toronto this Friday, June 3rd and Saturday, June 4th at MAssey Hall. They have many festival dates scattered across the summer, and then there are plans to cross Canada again in the fall, giving fans another chance to see live versions of the new material.
