Sam Roberts- Love at the End of the World
CD Review
Artist: Sam Roberts
Label: Universal
Released: May 20^th, 2008

Reviewed By: Sarah Miller (Vancouver Correspondent - Canada)

Sam Roberts' debut album, We Were Born in a Flame is one of those epic albums that almost everyone in Canada owns. It seemed like you couldn't go anywhere in 2003 without hearing ‘Brother Down' or ‘Where Have All the Good People Gone' on the radio. Even five years later, it's an album I still come back to every now and again, like an old friend to take on a road trip with you. But I've got to admit, I approached Love at the End of the World with a little bit of trepidation because as much as I love We Were Born in a Flame, Roberts' second album Chemical City just didn't really do it for me. Was We Were Born in a Flame just a fluke? Was Chemical City just another victim of the sophomore slump?

It appears that my fears were unfounded. Love at the End of the World is classic Sam Roberts: full of straight up Rock and Roll influenced by some of the great bands of the late 60s and early 70s mixed with heartfelt frustrations of what it means to live and love in the postmodern world. There is a depth and versatility to this album, each song telling its own story and finding its own feel. From the quiet, soulful verses of ‘Words & Fire' to the radio friendly rock single ‘Them Kids', every song on this album is quality, carefully crafted with something to say.

The first single off the album, ‘Them Kids' was released in March and has done fairly well on the Canadian Radio charts. It's more up-tempo and danceable than Roberts' previous hits, which is a bit of a contradiction considering the song is about a rocker trying to reconcile himself to a world where R&B, Hip-Hop and Cell Phones reign supreme.  "The golden years are under attack/we're taking them back" he sings. It sounds like something that should be sung by a crotchety old man, but somehow Sam Roberts finds a way to make it fun and cheeky because really, "If nobody listens, then who's gonna hear?" 

The slow, driving lament of ‘Lions of Kalahari' matched with a sing-song melody is classic Sam Roberts, evoking memories of ‘Rarefied' and ‘Taj Mahal' from his debut disc. The quiet and soulful verse of ‘Words & Fire' reminds me of a Bob Dylan song, and then in the chorus it breaks into a great duet with a female vocalist whose voice blends beautifully with Roberts' as they sing "Just give me a reason to carry on, to carry on." ‘Detroit '67' is another bluesy shuffle that laments the passing of the good old days of rock and roll and Motown. It starts with a beat that could have been hammered out on the piano in the smoky basement of a club somewhere as Roberts calls out "Does anyone here tonight remember those times/can anyone here tonight tell me what they felt like?" over the noise.  

I literally can't decide which songs to put for ‘Suggested Downloads', all of the songs are good and for different reasons. Instead I suggest that you buy the whole album, put it in your car stereo and drive around with it for a few months to really get acquainted with it. Old friends take a lot of time to cultivate.

Love at the End of the World

Stripmall Religion

Oh Maria

Lions of Kalahari

Fixed to Ruin

Them Kids

Words & Fire

Sundance

Up Sister

End of the Empire

The Pilgrim

Waking the Dead

Detroit ‘67