evilchiliOkay, about that Commonwealth.
After a quarter century of doing the thing, from being the biggest band around to being all but forgotten but with a diehard fanbase, any reasonable band would be forgiven for calling it quits or running out the clock with best ofs, live albums and festival dates and, to borrow a phrase, fading into obscurity. Instead, Sloan's 11th outing is of all things a double album with a side devoted to each member.
The format change really highlights the idiosyncratic songwriting of each one and as a result it plays like a series of EPs; you get a sense of what the band might be with a single lead singer and writer. It's fascinating, and if anything demonstrates why the foursome's magic is alchemical in nature; reviews were somewhat mixed. I suspect you could have sequenced these songs as two records in the traditional 12 song format and they would have reviewed better.
Anyway Jay's side opens the album, and it contains some of his sweetest harmonies and most tender melodies. Three Sisters and You've Got a Lot On Your Mind are both gorgeous, with lush vocal harmonies throughout.
Chris's side is, typically, more rooted in the 60s, all hand claps and tambourines, although there are some surprising and welcome string arrangements softening the sound, as on Carried Away.
And then there's Patrick Pentland's side, which seemed to throw people for a loop. It's not his strongest writing, and there's no radio conquering single here, but if you've been paying attention you'd know his favourite band is Jesus And Mary Chain, and this entire set is heavily inspired by the Creation records sound of the early 90s -- he very kindly confirmed as much when I posed the question. I suspect these are the songs least helped by the sequencing. I love 13 (Under a Bad Sign) though. Sits happily between J&MC and Stone Roses.
Finally, there is Andrew Scott's formidable Forty-Eight Portraits, a single suite of several movements in total nearly 18 minutes long. The obvious comparison would be the back half of Abbey Road, but that's not really fair. It's audacious, and the clearest statement of his yet recorded. The band is firing on all cylinders here, and it mines the back catalog, lifting melodies and even entire verses from older records The whole thing hangs together surprisingly well for something that has dog barks, a children's choir, Velvet Underground beats, bells, chimes, and fuzz pedals.
And that's it for #SloanTime. As you can no doubt tell, they've been my favourite band for more than 30 years. They are, ultimately, a pretty great power pop quartet with a gift for melody and harmony, who wear their influences proudly on their sleeves, sticking close to a formula but willing to play, experiment, and surprise within it. They're probably not going to be your favourite band, and that's okay. But there are incredible songs here for you to discover.
I will leave you with You've Got A Lot On Your Mind, live on #KEXP.
