Shikher Chaudhary tracks the musical journey of this Canadian Band to find out what sets them apart

Triple Juno award recipient and prolific singer/songwriter Montreal native Sam Roberts is often described as the definitive voice in a collection of American and Canadian bands centered on 70’s classic rock nostalgia. But in reality, this former hockey player has so much more going for him. Through three albums of passionate and infectious folk-rock and power-pop tunes, many of them built around a percussively strummed acoustic guitar, Roberts has breathed new life into a very dry, dull Canadian music scene. By means of odd references to Canada in many of his songs (even singing in French for a few verses of ’No Sleep’) he maintains a staunch national identity but that certainly doesn’t limit his appeal to a strictly Canadian audience.

With tune crafting skills which have the ability to stand up well next to early Brian Wilson and Paul McCartney material, Sam Roberts’ first full length LP ‘We Were Born in a Flame’ presents a lush and enjoyable listening experience.  Along with compelling and inquiring lyrics, Sam Roberts is also an interesting musician who decides to play all the instruments except for percussion on this album. A risky move no doubt, he manages to pull it off with conviction with the record ending up sounding grander and richer than it ought to be.

The album is rich in instantly memorable hooks which will find you tapping your feet within the first 30 seconds of ‘Hard Road’ – the opening track. Along with the uber-catchy clap along ‘Brother Down’ and the gorgeous and seductive orchestral pop of Beatle-esque ‘Taj Mahal’ which makes the most of Roberts’ talents as a violinist, ‘Hard Road’ is a stand-out track and contains some gripping and intelligent lyrics, something of a rarity in today’s formulaic music world. Roberts writes with eloquence about the universal human effort of finding the easy life and avoiding the bumps of the real world. When he opines, “There’s no road that ain’t a hard road to travel on”, he is able to chronicle the troubles of life in this fallen world without offering therapeutic platitudes like “believe in yourself” or something similar. On this record, Roberts chooses to narrate the problems of humanity and creation rather than offer solutions and in doing so manages to escape falling into a moralistic outlook blatantly prevalent in popular media and music. ‘Paranoia’ finishes off this pervasive album, starting out as an acoustic piece before ending as an upbeat, driving instrumental. Overall, an impeccable combination of guitar, percussion, and piano makes this CD worth multiple listens.

Released in 2006, Roberts’ second release ‘Chemical City’, with its share of rockers, ballads, and artistic experimentations is a very well rounded album. Backed by a group that would continue onto the next album, Dave Nugent (guitar), Eric Fares (keyboards), James Hall (bass) and Josh Trager (drums) helped craft this album with its folky-1960’s rebellious feel whilst throwing all notions of a sophomore slump out the window. Starting off with the psychedelic rocker ‘The Gate’, the album’s mood soon shifts towards an alternative mode with tracks like ‘Mind Flood’ and ‘Mystified Heavy’. ‘Bridge to Nowhere’ with its sing along melody is an instant classic, while ‘The Bootleg Saint’ and ‘The Resistance’ call to mind mid era Rolling Stones. Chemical City also sports two folkier tunes, the lovely acoustic ‘Uprising Down Under’ along with the emotive keyboards, and the vocals-only heartbreak song ‘A Stone Would Cry Out’.  A much more rough-around-the-edges album, Roberts balances the strong melodies and anthemic choruses with some affecting subtle pieces. There is a strong sense of cohesion among these extremely well crafted songs with lyrics that see him wise beyond his years.

The latest offering from the Sam Roberts band ‘Love at the End of the World’, sees them at their most potent while delivering on the same bluesy hard rock formula, supplied with abundant pop hooks and mixed in with a little psychadelia when needed, as seen in beguiling ‘Lions of the Kalahari’. ‘Up Sister’, ‘End of the Empire’  and the forlorn ‘Waking the Dead’ stand out among other eclectic tracks of the album  ending with a piece featuring off the wall lyrics set to a piano driven tune in the captivating closer ‘Detroit ‘67’.

In retrospect, Sam Roberts represents the perfect example of the modern day singer/songwriter. With songs that range from bouncy, fun loving to a mellower sound, combining rock & roll fundamentals with folk influences, he is able to extract old influences and creatively rework them to create a unique original sound and deliver them with the vibrancy and honesty rarely seen in today’s rock n’ roll.

Juno Awards Report Card

• We Were Born in a Flame (2004): Album of the year, Rock album of the year, Artist of the year
• Bridge to Nowhere (2007): Video of the year
• Love at the End of the World (2009): Rock album of the year, Artist of the year

Article by Shikher Chaudhary
Images Courtesy: Cherie Marion, Dave Gillespie

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