Sloan: The Double Cross

I have a soft-spot for power pop. I'm a sucker for a good, bouncy yet forceful guitar. It's not a type of music that is going to be lauded often for its artistic potential, but it's the sort of thing I keep going back for more of, as you might note when taking a glance at this blog. There's a lot of guitar rock here, and a lot of it isn't the ornate, extreme kind, nor the straightforward, macho kind. Sloan blends sensitive prettiness with an action-packed excitability. This is the kind of record that might slip through the cracks, but is very rewarding for those who listen.

There's a lot of joy in the making of music on this record, from the motor-mouthed, foot-stompers like "Follow the Leader," and "Shadow of Love," to precious beauties like "The Answer Was You" and "Green Gardens, Cold Montreal." "Unkind" is the archetypal stadium rocker. It's very much like a Canadian band, not to mention the clever lyrics of Sloan, to hook a blockbuster like that, with its purely archetypal riff, around the ambivalent phrase "Don't know why you've got to cross that line ... You can be so kind sometimes / And you can be unkind sometimes."

A number of true highlights like that one are buffered by ear candy. "The Answer Way You" has a sincerity that offsets the sarcasm of the opening track, with its cooing vocals (all the members take the mic at some point, but I sadly don't know who's who) and majestic instrument work. "Green Gardens, Cold Montreal" is built on a warm acoustic guitar and a shivering vocal. It comes across like warm breath on an icy day. "Your Daddy Will Do" is even impressive amongst this company, with its clevery story-and-message setting a twangy guitar against a pitch-perfect funk-rock backbeat, including a strangely dreamy Beach Boys like middle eight.

"Beverly Terrace" is a song with a lot going on it, from great lyrics like "She wears sunscreen in the middle of winter / To remind herself of summers that were kind" to its quote/repurposing of "Shadow of Love," redoing it as a duel between vocalists: "I know, I know / But knowing doesn't make it untrue," one of those wonderful contradictions Sloan's lyrics often touch on. In general, the album is concerned with the way one feeling or situation transforms into another, whjether through betrayal, redemption, or realization. "Traces" revs up like a hot rod, and gets liftoff on those fucking organs, I love it, with a "Life goes on and on / Appreciate it" chorus that's hard not to dig. It sets the stage for the delicate closer, "Laying So Low," which staggers into bed and says goodnight. Love it.

Even less notable tracks are goosed up with gorgeous harmonies, instrumental skills, clever lyrics, and/or any of a dozen tools in the band's kit. Like the Sheepdogs' album I reviewed last week, it's meant to be listened to from front to back, and makes for a rewarding listen without playing any unfair tricks. More or less the tracks stand on their own, but are sequenced so terrifically, especially at transitional points, you can't help but want to keep going. Dan Mangan, in response to my post about his song "Post-War Blues," (#humblebrag) told me I should keep paying attention to whole albums, so that the format doesn't die. It's always great to see a whole piece laid out and put together with care.

I keep coming back to guitar rock, a format that is sometimes considered passe and dumb, because the most popular acts in the genre tend to be lame. But it's what I grew up on, and it'll never go away, because without even rewriting the rules there are always rewarding possibilities. It's an extremely rich, expressive way of making music, and it is a language that is not hard for a listener to understand and appreciate. If there's one thing the guys in Sloan probably hate, it's a cliche: it's the one thing I don't think they're good at doing.

The guys in Sloan have been hanging around as a band for twenty years now, and have proven themselves masters of their craft ever since "Underwhelmed" many years ago. Their love for their craft shines through, and you can sense that they're still, at heart, teenage music nerds. You see from these 12 tracks what eight capable hands, with a working knowledge of the ins and outs of pop music history, can do with the basic elements. It's a no frills album that is secretly pretty showy.

Buy this album now: iTunes // Amazon.com // Amazon.ca