There exists a black hole in the North American music industry, lying just East of Toronto and just West of Montréal. It’s where talented Canadian bands go to die. Although not all succumb to this fate, most do; they end up jailed in Southern Ontario, destined never to cross the Peace Bridge into America, let alone the Atlantic. Some have broken the boundary: Rush, Arcade Fire, and Crystal Castles, for example, have all enjoyed huge amounts of success both in the USA and overseas. One artist, Sam Roberts, seems to be destined to follow a similar path of expansion, having already appeared on American radio stations with tracks from his new album, Lo-Fantasy. We here at One On One think that with notable Britpop producer Youth on board, Sam Roberts might stand a chance of going somewhere in the UK music industry.
Lo-Fantasy is a classic radio-friendly melting pot of pop and rock, sounding something like a blend of late Oasis, The 1975, and The White Stripes, with a bit of Tame Impala on the synths for good measure. The chord progressions scream of Roberts’ Canadian fellows The Tragically Hip and Neil Young; you can practically hear his hockey-season beard singing. Overall, it’s an upbeat, dance-ready album, although one that’s perhaps fit more for a pub than a club.
The album’s lead single We’re All In This Together is not the star of Lo-Fantasy. It starts out with a cool, catchy guitar riff, and continues on with dirty vocals and clean guitars. It’s worth a listen, but we doubt it will be your favourite. For a start, it’s easily overshadowed by album track and current radio darling, Human Heat.
Human Heat starts off similarly, with a razor sharp riff. As Roberts starts singing, we may find ourselves unimpressed by his aims to “catch a fly ball at the stadium”, not to mention his propensity for rhyming “now” with “now”, and “time” with “town”. Nonetheless, you find yourself sucked into the song, chanting “You are your own worst enemy!” despite the lyric making no sense in context, dancing along to those ever-so-Britpop-influenced guitar licks likely pulled straight out of Youth’s playbook. This tune’s solidified itself as one of the album’s best by the time you get to the bridge.
Lo-Fantasy takes homage from Lonerism as Sam sings in a psychedelic space-echo “It’s taking over, everyone you meet; shoulder to shoulder, feel the human heat.” That’s the line, truly, that negates Roberts’ priorly naff verses. Every music fan, everywhere in the world, has felt this – the excitement of simply being “shoulder to shoulder”, amongst the atmosphere and energy, no matter what band is on stage. For myself, and likely for Roberts, that brings up memories of spilled pints and audience fights at Lee’s Palace or The Kool Haus. But the feeling is borderless. This song captures the atmosphere of every great small venue out there, from Doncaster to New York, to Mumbai, Tokyo, and Roberts’ hometown of Montréal.
As the album progresses, it keeps us entertained, though with a few potholes along the road. Angola is another definite standout, luring us in with muted acoustics and echoing into oblivion before Sam jumps back with a punchy electric version. Its successor, The Hands Of Love, is unremarkable, but it’s made up for by the preppy and poppy Shapeshifters. Metal Skin is similar, and benefits from the Sam Roberts curse/gift wherein, unusually, its bridge is always more spectacular than its chorus.
Lo-Fantasy is a crowd pleaser, but one with depth and complex, inventive riffs and beats. It may not rank in your top five albums of all time, but it’s a great party record, and impossible to hate. To be fair, isn’t that what Canadian musicians are known for?
