Record Review: Sloan

Sloan – Never Hear The End Of It, (Yep Roc Records.2007)



On their eighth studio album, Sloan decided to release a thirty-track power pop epic – what would’ve been called a double or triple (say it isn’t so!) album in the pre-CD years. In some ways, this is bizarre move. The album’s title anticipated the collective groan of thousands upon thousands of jaded-towards-slick-power-pop rock critics everywhere as they ready their pens with charges of “(self-)indulgence”, “a plethora of filler”, etc. It is an absolutely beauteous title! On the one hand, it’s self-deprecation at its most clever; on the other hand, it’s a nice-guy-mean-jab at the critics-slash-discerning-music-listeners. Most importantly (!), it turns the pejorative into the positive.

While much of what Sloan has released on this record is of no surprise; that does not mean it is of no consequence. “Fading Into Obscurity” with its unexpected-weird changes and song-within-a-song-within-a-song recalls “Suppose They Close The Door” from 1998’s Navy Blues. “Living With The Masses” is one of those rare songs filled with jumpy energy, big fat guitar riffs, and juicy hooks that elicit pure bonkers listener reaction. Yes, I am talking about that uncommon blend of rock power and melodic glory. This is followed by the brief, but massive, rave up “HFXNSHC” – making a perfect one-two punch.

“Listen To The Radio” is a par excellent, if not predictable, Sloan power ballad. The harmonies soar, expected, and electronics whirr, unexpected. Still, it’s such a great tune, because of the unexpected things. The sunny-jaunty-pop of “I Understand” is another typical Sloan track, but the integration of an electro-effect slide guitar gives it that tiny nuance to make it interesting. The same goes for the rocker, “I’ve Gotta Try”, but rather than slide guitar it’s utter economy and a near-80s-alternative vibe and soaring synth riffs. The most glaring omission are those near-KISS covers. When the band cranks it up, it’s classic Nuggets garage (see “I Can’t Sleep”, “Blackout”, “Golden Eyes”, “Ill Placed Trust”) rather than 70s arena rock. This is a welcome change.

Like any band compromised of more than one principal songwriter (in case you didn’t know this – all four members of the band write the songs), this contributes to Sloan’s longetivity and diversity. Over the last, oh, two or three records, guitarist Jay Ferguson has emerged as the one producing the most compelling songs. See the sickly addictive “Right Or Wrong”, the smoothly-bittersweet “Before The End Of The Race”, and the huge-hooky “Can’t You Figure It Out?” – each of these songs completely dominate.

I will admit that this record drives me near-crazy, not because of a derogatory this-or-that, but for the sheer simple fact that a THIRTY SONG record from Sloan should not be this good, nor should it be this consistent. It is sequenced so well, playing each songwriter off the other from track to track, mixing up tempo creating a sonic drama. They wisely vary the song lengths – 60.0% are 3 minutes or shorter and only 13.3% go over four minutes! So much for self-indulgence! Every time the record starts to drag (for example, “Something’s Wrong” to “Ana Lucia”), a totally bitchin’ song follows (following the cited example, “Before The End Of The Race”). This combination of strategic sequencing, stellar songwriting, and been-doing-this-for-years-wisdom is the crux of what makes Never Hear The End Of It one of the year’s best records, and one of the pleasant surprises.

Score: 77.22
File Under: Power.Pop

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