Album Details

• Artist: Sam Roberts
• Album: Collider
• Label: Zoe / Rounder
• Year of Release: 2011
• ME Rating:
• Reviewed by: MusicCritic on 2011-05-26

In a music world where written criticism seeks to out-obscure itself at each turn, it becomes easy to dismiss or totally ignore bands that fall all along traditional generic lines. Sam Roberts Band is one of those bands.

Collider is a simple album. 13 straight ahead rock songs, upfront and crystal clear vocals showcasing Robert’s lovely, rich voice, and a clear homage to the band’s ’90s influences – The Tragically Hip and Oasis are particularly evident. It’s all very clean and lovely and summery but in the end one finds themselves asking, “what is this album about?” It seems unclear what Roberts’ particular obsession is these days. There seems to be a bit of a sax fetish happening from time to time but no real thematic links between songs. Yes, there are the usual Roberts rock standards: love, the end of love, war, and Montréal – but still, nothing quite specific enough.

A lack of thematic specificity aside, Collider is one of those albums that grows on you from listen to listen. ‘Sang Froid’ is the highlight of the album; ‘I Feel You (The Adventures of Candide Falcone)’ is a strong opening single and ‘Longitude’ (featuring Land of Talk’s lovely Liz Powell) is likely the next big hit for the band. Definitely an album worth a listen or three but not likely that Collider will end up on the turntable much past the end of the summer.

Michelle Kennedy

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