Sam Roberts Band

Sam Roberts’ output after 2008’s Love At the End of the World—when he added “Band” to his solo moniker in honour of his longtime backing players—has built on the singer’s modern classic-rock vibe with a clearer pop bent and injection of danceable rhythms. The shift aligned the Montreal group more with the bright, crossover indie rock of the 2010s, and their first album with the new name, 2011’s Collider, employed plenty of groove on tracks like “The Last Crusade.” In 2013, Lo-Fantasy embraced the ‘80s with crunchy riffs (“We’re All In This Together”) and disco-adjacent synth rock (“Shapeshifters”), while 2016’s TerraForm took the sound to spacier territory with songs like “FIEND” and “Roll With The Spirits.” No matter the mode, hooky songwriting is always at the forefront, and 2020’s All of Us testifies to that, journeying through styles tried-and-true (the melodic pop-rock of “War Chest”) and more modern (the synth-inflected “Wolf Tracks”) with the same melodic flair.