TORONTO — Ed Robertson says when early chatter about COVID-19 began circulating through the music industry, he feared that live concerts were headed for a world of trouble.
Having more than three decades of experience in Barenaked Ladies, the singer-songwriter said he couldn’t imagine thousands of people gathering at shows while a mysterious virus raged.
"I knew right away that my industry would be the last thing to return," he said in a recent interview.
"People standing chest-to-back, screaming songs into the back of each other's heads was not conducive to stopping a virus."
And so, Robertson and his bandmates — Jim Creeggan, Tyler Stewart and Kevin Hearn — began mapping out a year that sent them on many detours.
They postponed their ominously titled Last Summer on Earth 2020 North American tour and set their sights on saving another potential victim of the pandemic: their 16th studio album which was released last week.
Started early last year, in the depths of winter at Robertson's cottage near Peterborough, Ont., the project was partially finished when a brief hiatus for March break turned into an indefinite lockdown with their families.
Being forced to hit pause wound up being a "blessing in disguise," Robertson attested.
"It afforded us the luxury of time to really listen to what we had and think about directions we could take."
When they reunited months later at Toronto's Noble Street Studios to finish the project, they blended "organic, live off-the-floor" songs recorded at the cottage with new tracks laid down in a more polished professional space.
The approach gave "Detour de Force" its grab bag formula. The rousing energy of lead single "Flip," which subtly points to the album’s political edge, gives way to "Good Life," a flighty jubilation on the band’s success. "New Disaster" is a denouncement of the 24-hour news cycle and what Robertson describes as a society driven by "anti-social media."
Similar reflections on the state of the world turn up in other tracks.
"Flat Earth" recalls an encounter with a flat-earther at a barbershop, while other songs tackle the climate crisis and Robertson's take on internet conspiracy theories, which he says only intensified as people spent more time online.
"This wondrous technology, which should be uniting and enlightening us, is tearing us apart," he said.
"People ... don't trust facts anymore and that's a pretty dangerous place to be in. We saw it play out during this pandemic. People couldn't even decide on objective truth. They didn't trust health experts, they didn't trust scientists."
Robertson's lyrics also carry his perspective as a father to three adult children, who range in age from 19 to 26.
"I'm not thinking about what the world is going to be like when they're grown up, they are grownups now," he said.
"And I'm seeing them experience a world I could have never imagined."
A few albums ago, Robertson struggled with writer's block, finding new lyrical perspective frustratingly elusive.
"I was really struggling," he said. "I was thinking: I’ve written so many songs, I don't know what to say anymore. And I don't know who's listening."
With "Detour de Force" the musician said his inspiration was plentiful, much of it pulled from a "very tumultuous" last four years in the United States, where the band spends most of their professional time.
"That's been difficult to tease through, as an artist and a neighbour," he said.
"Sometimes I'm writing about the ills of conspiracy theories ... and then other times I'm just thinking, 'What's going to be a banger on the next live tour? ... As much as I'm ruminating on some pretty heavy subjects, I'm also here to entertain."
While the new lyrics might suggest Robertson is in a darker place, he insists he's never been happier with his bandmates, who challenge him to be a better musician.
"There's three people I'm really trying to impress with my songs ... and they're the guys in my band," he said.
"Here we are this many years into our career. I'm not tired of it. I'm energized by it. I'm not sick of our hits. I love them."
"You can't pigeonhole this band," he added.
David Friend, The Canadian Press