Sam Roberts Band Lo-Fantasy out of five

Sammy’s got his groove back? And his pop. And his sense of fun. Catchiness. Clarity. Concision. And it’s all on display on the Canadian rocker’s fifth album and best, most instantly gratifying since he first came on the scene more than a decade ago.

And to get there, the Montrealer and Co. have put aside most of those mid-’70s rock leanings that made things a little darker, druggier and denser during their last several records, opting instead for something a little brighter, fresher and perkier, even if it still borrows some sounds and flavours from pop music’s past, most notably the ’80s. They go big right off the bat, with the somewhat more modern Float On-esque Shapeshifters, following it up with anthem after anthem: the tripped-out, Madchester rave-up We’re All In This Together; the jump-started, souped-up Cars-like handclapper Human Heat; the Blondie recalling electro of Metal Skin; the Elvis Costello meets U2 of Angola; the full-on Anglo dream pop (Modern English, Psychedelic Furs, etc.) of The Hands of Love; the splendidly herky jerky Kid Icarus, that sounds like XTC in its new wave infancy; and on and on.

No, it’s not the Sam Roberts Band’s deepest, most profound work of art, one that you can immerse yourself in and interpret for a bongload of Sundays. But it is them at their most immediate, melodic and upbeat, which should kick-start Friday and Saturday nights for months, perhaps years, to come.