Sam C Roberts - Escapism

Sam C Roberts

Escapism
​self-released; 2021

3.8 out of 5

By Dino DiMuro

Sam C. Roberts is a musician and composer based in Birmingham, UK who recently completed his album Escapism. Roberts says his primary musical focus is on the bass guitar, and in finding ways to expand the role and sonic palette of his instrument. He also produces “atmospheric pieces that combine abstract sound, field recordings and music to create absorbing, film-like narratives.” The songs themselves are about “dreaming and distraction through fantasy; all the music is rooted in escape from reality.” Though Roberts never uses the terms progressive or fusion, those are the closest categories that his music falls into for me with strong echoes of The Mahavishnu Orchestra, Return To Forever, Weather Report and Herbie Hancock.

Full disclosure: this is the kind of album where the playing and arrangements are of such a high level that my mouth hung open in amazement with each cut. Roberts himself sings and plays bass, but also contributes some guitar and keyboards with Nick Hartland on drums. Most parts were recorded at Roberts’ home studio (along with final mixing and mastering), with drums tracked at The Kennel Studios in South Somerset.

“ROBOTRUMBLE (Boss Fight)” opens the album much like Queen’s “Ogre Battle” began Queen II, with the same kind of manic energy and ear-popping chops. Roberts says this is a tale of “sentient robots winning their freedom and striking out into new worlds” and it certainly plays that way. The bass in the main section carries parts you’d expect of a rhythm guitar with the synths providing the Byzantine melodies. Roberts declaims his lyrics like Big Brother sending out a noontime broadcast. For all its complexity, this song actually has a hummable theme that I really enjoyed. 

Now that we know roughly what to expect, “Blue Hydrangeas” continues the prog-y template of the first track with the exception that guest guitarist Alistair Blair carries the melodies with an insinuating fuzz tone; in the B section he goes for a quieter, more crystalline quality. The third section becomes harder rock with extreme processing on the guitar that resembles a synth, followed by some incredible axe heroics from the Al DiMeola school. If you’re looking for guitar, this is your track.

“Dunes Divided” is said to be a “sci-fi inspired story,” and I assume the main inspiration is Frank Herbert’s Dune which has just been made into a new movie. Roberts takes almost two minutes up top to create a mini symphony for his bass with textures that recall the great Jaco Pastorius. The bass continues to dominate the lyrical section, approximating Egyptian folk music and textures. 

“Drifter” features mellow background sounds against a paramilitary beat over which Roberts speaks his lyrics like a story; eventually the sentences begin to repeat and interweave with themselves for a hypnotic effect. “Silent Window” is in some ways a traditional smooth jazz vocal tune, but it’s being played in an extremely low key (perhaps inspired by the bass) so that the effect is deep, thick and all-encompassing. The moments when Roberts sings along with his bass lines gave me goosebumps. 

The finale “Take to the Water” is perhaps the biggest surprise, as it’s very close to rock or even punk with some hints of Captain Beefheart in the chorus. The energy tilts toward overdrive from beginning to end though the verses are sung by Roberts in his pop style. The hardcore riffs just don’t quit… until they finally do.

​Overall an excellent collection of songs and a fine album for any lover of prog rock or jazz fusion with enough surprises to keep everyone else guessing.

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