Sloan!

Canadian power-pop group Sloan has achieved megastar status, with their albums routinely topping the charts, and winding up routinely on “greatest album ever” lists…in Canada. The quartet has been rocking out for 17 years. Their rejection of a major label sparked the indie-rock revolution, giving us groups like Broken Social Scene, The Arcade Fire, The New Pornographers, and Tegan and Sara, but it seems to have doomed them to obscurity in the United States.

Sloan is made up of Chris Murphy, Andrew Scott, Patrick Pentland, and Jay Ferguson. All four are singer/songwriters in their own right, and (with one exception) all four contribute to each album. While each of them have a default position within the band, they take turns on vocals, usually depending on who wrote the song, and each musician is entirely comfortable taking someone else’s part – they regularly switch out in their live shows.

Sloan grew out of the Halifax, Nova Scotia music scene. Formed in 1991, their debut album, Smeared, was a well-received grunge album, and they found a hit with the single “Underwhelmed,” which saw heavy play on on Canada’s MuchMusic station.

When Geffen pushed for the band to follow their Nirvana-influenced, grunge sound, Sloan responded instead with a power-pop album inspired by The Beatles and The Who. The band stood solidly by Twice Removed, and refused to back down until Geffen released the record. Ultimately, the label caved, but they refused to support the album promotionally and they dropped Sloan from the label. Regardless, Twice Removed was a smash hit, and continues top “greatest Canadian album” lists to this day.

Sloan founded their own label, murderecords, and they released a trio of albums over four years, each one garnering both widespread critical acclaim and massive commercial success. In 1996 they released One Chord to Another, and ’98 and ’99 saw the one-two punch of Navy Blues and Between the Bridges, more or less a love song to their hometown of Halifax.

I first heard of Sloan through the webcomic Sam and Fuzzy. The artist was listing his favorite bands; he mentioned Ben Folds Five, Reel Big Fish, The Pillows, and Sloan. Anyone who comes up with a list like that is on the fast track to earning my musical respect, so I checked out Sloan. I picked up their 2001 album Pretty Together for about $5 used. At first, I didn’t think that much of it (what the hell was wrong with me?), and I put it aside, until the band’s name kept popping up around me and not going away. I went back to Hastings – I was in a bad mood and ready for some good ol’ consumerism – and picked up (unwittingly) their late-90’s triple smash. I got One Chord to Another, Navy Blues, and Between the Bridges, for a grand total of less than $12. I think I paid $11. Looking back, it saddens me that they’re obscure enough around here that I could get away with that.

A whole new universe of rock possibility opened up in front of me. I was still tentative, but I thought that I liked what I was hearing. What finally hooked me was Navy Blues. The album opens with a fast, hard-hitting guitar riff and a two-part harmony that would pull in anyone. Trying to describe the opener, “She Says What She Means” is useless. It’s good, old-fashioned rock and roll, and it’s too awesome for words. The amazing thing is that the album kept going. “Seems So Heavy” has a bass line straight out of the late-Beatles McCartney catalogue. “Chester the Molester” is a bright, happy piano tune about the creepiest guy at the bar. As I kept going through the record, I realized that there wasn’t really a weak cut on it. I had my favorites, but nearly every song was a knock-out, and every song was at the very least good.

I went on to Between the Bridges. It was arranged in suites. That delighted me. The first four songs especially worked well, and the Beatles comparisons kept coming. Quiet opener “The N.S.” was almost a Lennon track, and the dense harmonies on “Don’t You Believe a Word” almost moved me to tears the first time I heard it (and have moved me to tears on occasion). People accuse Sloan of basically making compilation albums, but Between the Bridges is an incredibly cohesive work, and one of the most solid records that I’ve ever heard. One Chord to Another is perhaps the most varied musically, and if the cohesion of Bridges is an asset, then somehow variety becomes an asset on One Chord. I realized that if you sound this good, then nearly everything you do will be likable, even if you take two different approaches to your work.

This was also the album that made me notice Sloan’s lyrics – their early work in particular is known for being clever, charmingly self-deprecating, and true-to-life. Songs like “G Turns to D,” where the narrator is watching a girl tear him apart with her music onstage and wishing that he hadn’t taught her to play guitar, are as interesting lyrically as they are musically. Chris Murphy in particular, have a penchant for interesting lyrical situations and subtle wordplay.

All of this made me pull out my copy of Pretty Together again. I suddenly knew what to make of it. It was dark, but it was mature, and the thick harmonies that I had fallen in love with were now paired with flowing, Jeff Lynne-esque chord changes that gave me chills.

And then we fell in love and lived happily ever after. I hunted down all of their studio albums, I’m working on the rest, and there’s only one record in the bunch that’s even questionable. There’s too much about Sloan to recommend them to really encapsulate in one place; all that I can do is ask you to go find out for yourself. Start with Navy Blues.