Tags
Between the Bridges, Commonwealth, Double Cross, Hit and Run, Navy Blues, Never Hear the End of It, One Chord to Another, Parallel Play, Pretty Together, Sloan, Smeared, Twice Removed
Back in 1996 I got my copy of One Chord to Another and thought it was pretty cool, but frankly I was a bit distracted. I didn’t give it the worship it deserved. Reviewing it now I can better appreciate how this band had it all going on – great sound, solid hooks, and a palpable authenticity. How did Nova Scotia produce such a monster act? Their first EP Peppermint and full length album Smeared had a great indie sound, with both versions of “Underwhelmed” worth hitting repeat on. But their first major label effort, 1994’s Twice Removed, announced the arrival of a polished and original musical force, with “Penpals” a great weird single. Then they turned around and dumped their major label (Geffen) and turned out another great record, 1996’s One Chord to Another, spending one-tenth the budget of the previous one. While the album is bursting with great tracks, I’m partial to the very Beatle-esque “The Lines You Amend.” Talk was, Sloan would be the next big thing worldwide. But things didn’t really pan out that way.
Earlier this month I saw Sloan play One Chord to Another in its entirety at the Phoenix in Toronto as part of 20th anniversary tour commemorating the album. The show was broken into two sets, with the first blasting through OCTA and the second drawing from their other ten albums. Despite owning three of their records, I couldn’t name a single tune, though their audience was pretty well informed, drowning out the band on a few sing-a-longs. After such an amazing show, I decided to school myself on all things Sloan. Was this a band just reliving the glory of a few early records? After reviewing their catalogue, I can honestly say ‘no’. If anything, Sloan’s records only improve over time as the band expands its sonic range and songwriting scope. And that is saying something because those early records – Smeared, Twice Removed, One Chord to Another, Navy Blues – showcase the signature early sound of Sloan where the vocals and guitars slide together into a great sonic mash of hook-laden tunes. But, I will have you believe, their later material is even better.
Midnight Mass
Things begin to change up on the 1999 EP Hit and Run with the nice acoustic-y number, “Midnight Mass,” with its simple and endearing piano riff. The band continued to explore new lines of musical enquiry on albums like 1999’s Between the Bridges with “Losing California,” and 2001’s Pretty Together featuring “If It Feels Good Do It” and “The Other Man.” 2004’s Action Pact upped the guitar muscle but still had surprises like “The Rest of My Life,” as did 2011’s Double Cross with “Shadows of Love” and “Unkind.” 2008’s Parallel Play had the outstanding single “Believe in Me” with its nice crunchy guitar and organ lead lines.Both 2006’s Never Hear the End of It and 2014’s Commonwealth are minor masterpieces, showcasing a band in complete control of its creative development. As all four songwriters contribute great material to these efforts, it seems churlish to single out just a few songs. Nevertheless, Never Hear the End of It has “Everybody Wants You,” the lovely dreamy “Listen to the Radio,” the rock out “I Can’t Sleep,” and the wistful “Someone I Can be True With,” while Commonwealth has “You’ve Got a Lot on Your Mind,” “Cleopatra” (with a neat piano solo), and the imaginative “Carried Away” with its great harmonic changes. And there were a few super stand-alone singles, like 2009’s “Get Out of Your Bed,” with its delightful overlapping vocals and topical lyrics like ‘help yourself to some of their wealth’.
Everybody Wants YouListen to the RadioCleopatraCarried AwayGet Out of Your Bed
Sloan live in Toronto May 2016
So the bottom line is, believe the hype. Sloan are a great big load of talent. They exemplify the rock and roll form: four guys, all songwriters, all multi-instrumentalists, all dripping something authentic artistically, without the arrogance and pretention that often goes along with the package. I’m really fascinated to see what they come up with next.
Find Sloan and all their music and tour dates online.
Patrick Boutwell’s first solo outing came highly recommended from 
I saw John Mark Nelson open for Little Green Cars in Toronto last month and I was struck by his boyish earnestness, a quality that permeates a great deal of his recorded material. His first three albums are alternatively folky, whimsical, sometimes even vaudevillian, occasionally poprock, while his most recent, I’m Not Afraid, marks a departure into more serious territory. Check out his video for “
At the risk of turning this blog into a Teddy Thompson fan site, I had to feature “In My Arms” from his 2008 album A Piece of What You Need. On his fourth album, Thompson exudes a new confidence, bringing all his disparate influences together into a bold new style, with “In My Arms” as a dynamic single. The opening drums signal some classic poprock is being served up and Thompson does not disappoint. The hooks are so subtle you don’t realize you’re being seduced until you find yourself singing along. The accompaniment is both traditional and unusual: solid acoustic guitar anchoring the song, nice electric guitar flourishes, great background vocals, but then inserted here and there are what sound like video game sound effects and a killer, full-on, in-your-face organ solo. In your own personal imaginary video, the top is down on the convertible, the wind is blowing through your hair (in the most photogenic way), and the radio playing this song is cranked. Of course, this video captures the sentiment nicely too. 
There is something very Dandy Warhols about the recent Turbo Fruits single, “Show Me Something Real.” On their most recent recordings, both bands appear to combine a late 1990s rock sound with some classic late 1960s ambience, to great effect. While a number of 
Victoria’s Sam Weber has material that sounds deceptively simple but there is significant depth to his songs: subtle hooks, sophisticated production, and great arrangements. His 2014’s debut album, Shadows in the Road, has so many great songs it is hard to showcase just a few. Certainly “Right Hearted” has to be singled out as the obvious radio single. While the intro might be a little long, when the acoustic guitar kicks in the song takes off, stratospherically so when the keyboard appears at the 1:17 point. There is a very Sam Roberts feel to the hooks and chorus.Right Hearted
Sam Weber and band appearing live in a Toronto living room, May 2016.
Two Vancouver bands with striking similarities take us in a motherly direction in this post. They were both formed in the mid-2000s and branched out musically from more stripped down roots and acoustic leanings in their early recordings to embrace indie rock, new wave, and even dance influences later on. “Mother” is from Said the Whale’s 2013 album hawaii. While overshadowed somewhat by the 1981-ish, new wave sounding hit single “I Love You,” “Mother” is a solid release in its own right. Kicking off with a rather spare bass and drum sound, the vocals stand out for their effervescent quality, only to break out into a surging chorus laden with great keyboards and guitar lines, while the lyrics perfectly capture the transitional anxiety of young adults as the singer urges “don’t tell my mother till I pull myself together.”
There is something quite wonderful about this impressive mash-up of late 1950s Felice and Boudleux Bryant-era songcraft with the fresh and contemporary sound of Thompson and Jones on this recording. The Everly Brothers, Buddy Holly, Roy Orbison – we could imagine any of them recording this song, but that does not in any way take away from what is accomplished here. Great plinky piano, ghostly background organ, dead on handclaps, subtle guitar lines, and two vocalists who really know how to entwine a harmony. “Never Knew You’d Love Me Too” is featured on the duo’s new album Little Windows, which mines a seam of old-time American cross-over country and western that can only be described as ‘delightful.’ This is all the more impressive when one considers that neither performer is a dedicated country artist (though Thompson’s catalogue does include various country songs and one previous dedicated country album), and yet somehow they have the authentic feel for the genre that, frankly, a great deal of new country lacks. If we still had variety shows, these two would be your featured Saturday night special guests.
Poprock Record 