WE’VE ONLY JUST BEGUN

“I feel like with every record, something that was blocked gets unlocked, you know?”You can hear it in his voice — that momentary but telling inflection that turns a statement

into a question. That great Canadian hallmark of domestic artistry, so often accompanied by words like “humble,” “reserved” and “unpresumptuous.” Sam Roberts wears it well. His long, drawn-out phrasing rises and falls over the telephone like on many of his band’s most famous hits, as he tries to put the creative process into words. “I don’t really know what the hell it is. But for me, I feel like I get a little bit deeper every time I sit down to write.” All modesty aside, Roberts has found a niche as a songwriter that many strive for, but few reach. It’s the same territory that Gord Downie charted two decades earlier — hard-driving, intellectual rock music that appeals to Hells Angels and honour students alike. When Roberts did his first stadium run with The Hip nearly 10 years ago, those in attendance knew they were witnessing something special — even if the 36-year-old from Montreal still struggles with his stature. “I don’t think of myself [as influential]. Not for one second of the day,” says Roberts. “I certainly don’t feel like I’ve been sitting on top of the heap for a long time, and I’m now ready to impart my infinite wisdom on the younger generation.” Even with the release of Collider — the

first official “Sam Roberts Band” record, and fourth from its steadfast frontman — there’s no convincing Roberts that he’s become one of the country’s most revered songwriters. In fact, he’s still hoping to learn a thing or two from the young guns. “I feel like I’m just getting started, but not in terms of a career trajectory, I’m talking about it as a songwriter and a musician,” says Roberts. Bands such as Attack in Black and Arkells are described as “staggeringly good” by the man who helped define an entire generation of Canadiana. “It sort of puts your own development into perspective… you almost say, ‘how did they skip all of those steps?’” He laughs through the phone, but almost out of frustration. “How is it that they’ve gained so much insight? And I’m not just talking about lyrically and philosophically. I mean song construction — how you put these things together, and, how you make them meaningful… you watch Attack in Black play, and it’s like they’ve been on stage for the past 20 years, even though that’s not the case. I don’t know where it comes from.” If Sam Roberts is still searching for answers, he’s certainly made a career of it from a recording standpoint. His debut full-length We Were Born in a Flame was recorded in Vancouver, while 2006’s Chemical City took shape in rural Australia and the immensely-popular Love at the End of The World brought the band all the way back to

WHY MONTREAL ROCKER SAM ROBERTS’ FOURTH ALBUM FEELS LIKE A FIRST

COMBUSTION104 MUSIC 105Written by ANDREW BAULCOMB

Photographed by DAVE GILLESPIE

Montréal. “There’s always a feeling of having to look outward, or to sort of ‘go beyond’ when you come from Canada… I didn’t spend my youth traveling between the east and west coast. You take it upon yourself to go out there and discover places.” For Collider (Roberts’ first new record in three years), the group took a quick sojourn across the border and set up shop in Chicago — meeting with local producer Brian Deck, and slowly building, tearing down and rebuilding each new song. “Subjecting yourself to the rigors of that process is important and was a step forward from how I approached making records before,” says Roberts. “I was a little more closed-minded, in terms of letting other people’s opinions sway the direction. I let [Brian] say what he had to say. He said it authoritatively, I listened, and the songs changed as a result of it. Sometimes I’d dig in my heels and say, ‘no I really feel like this is the right thing to do.’ Other times, his suggestion proved to be far and away the better path.” Once the duo formally “broke the ice” in the studio, it was only a matter of time before Collider took form. “Coming from a Canadian city to an American city always requires some level of adaptation,” says Roberts. “I think we were just excited by the musicians we were meeting, the pace of the city and the studio we were working in. Every time you walk out the door to get a cup of coffee, you see something new. For me, that’s always a great unforeseen or unplanned element when you’re making a record.” The result is a delicate balance of increased instrumentation and decreased volume — stripping away the thick guitars of past records, but carrying just as much weight through the midsection. Percussionist Ben Massarella (Califone) and multi-instrumentalist Stuart Bogie (Antibalas) were recruited to augment the band’s classic guitar-bass-drums format, and while the finished product is noticeably different, it still feels like a Sam Roberts album. “There was always more ‘cutting away’ than there was ‘adding to’ anything. I think that’s why the music feels as good as it does. It’s simpler than my original ideas, and that’s better. Especially for rock and roll.”

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