IN REVIEW: Sam Roberts Band - "Lo-Fantasy"

Since breaking onto the scene with independently-released early hit Brother Down and subsequently utterly smashing with full-length debut We Were Born In A Flame about a decade ago, Sam Roberts has been fighting against the wishes of fairweather fans of the time who dearly wished he'd be an ongoing source for the workman-like, earnest rock that The Tragically Hip had long abandoned in favour of artistic expression. Ever the experimentalist, his very next album (2006's Chemical City) veered off the beaten path into psychedelia and ragged soul. He'd later incorporate other influences, such as Motown and new wave, but remained very much a rocker at his core.

Lo-Fantasy retains some of Roberts' rock sensibility, but it's by and large a synth-and-sheen affair, infusing a late-80's energy into an otherwise straightforward collection of songs. It's interesting that this album sees release in mid-February considering just how sunny it is. That cover is no coincidence; the sound on this record is slick and polished to near blinding proportions.

Usually, this type of "real rock" abandonment rubs me the wrong way; and, to be fair, there are some tracks on Lo-Fantasy I just can't get into. Lead track Shapeshifters, the most disco thing on here, is such a jarringly jangly reintroduction to Roberts and his band that it takes half the song to get used to it, at which point it still feels just a bit flat. The Hands of Love and Chasing The Light are two that take the synth-based experimentation a little too far; with so much flourish and so much synth, they feel like they would have been overwhelming in their cheesiness in 1984, let alone thirty years later.

The thing is, aside from the more drastic doses of retro sheen, there are a ton of really solid songs on this album. The added instrumentation (which, let's face it, is expected at this point) is rarely all that overpowering, and the strength of the songs nearly always shine through the gloss. We're In This Together, Human Heat, Too Far and Never Enough stand out on this record as the strongest examples of the balance Roberts achieves between studio sheen and smart rock songwriting. I mean, it's not like he burned his guitars; they're still here in full force, it's just that they tend to follow rather than lead in several spots.

And, Roberts must be commended for sticking to a singular vision and seeing it through, rather than dabble here and there as he did on past records. It's consistent to a style and sound, and refuses to deviate too much from it. Lo-Fantasy doesn't compromise by serving up one or two stripped down numbers to recall past hits, nor does it alienate longtime fans by changing too drastically too quickly. We shouldn't expect this band to stay in one place for too long, and on Lo-Fantasy they're probably already leaving for the next stop. As long as we're guessing where that may be, consider the journey a worthwhile one.

February 11, 2014 • Paper Bag 

Highlights We're In This Together • Human Heat • Never Enough