lambchops's Full Review: One Chord to Another by Sloan
Canadians kick butt.
They trudge about in the great white north, end sentences with rhetorical questions, and have just enough of England in them to make them less uptight than most Americans. The country also occasionally spawns very cool bands as in the case of Nova Scotia’s very own Sloan.
Nova Scotia may not be known for their music really (aside from Sarah McLachlan), but this didn’t stop the Halifax natives from giving good pop to the masses. Not pop as in MTV-ready, but pop in the light, airy, and fun sense of the word. What I prefer to think of as the “good” variety of pop that true to the word became popular in the late 1990’s.
Sloan formed in the midst of the “grunge” movement�. In fact, the band soon signed to very supportive “grunge” label DGC. This wasn’t necessarily the best move as DGC refused to market the band’s clean, light songs in favor of other bands (like Nirvana) and their thick, dour noise. So basically, the band went from indie to major label and back to indie and in the process managed to remain pretty damn obscure across much of the US while still remaining popular in Canada. And even after all the label juggling and waffling, the band managed to release a near masterpiece in 1996—One Chord To Another.
Andrew Scott (drums), Chris Murphy (bass, vocals), Patrick Pentland (guitar, vocals), and Jay Ferguson (guitar, vocals) have pretty consistently over the years managed to create a sound that is widely appealing and wildly thoughtful. Sloan, in fact, is a sonic combination of the Beatles (for the lovely melodies), Cheap Trick (for the hooky riffs), and Radiohead (for the mellow pop-rock). In retrospect, the album probably hit shelves a good two or three years too early to gain the audience it so deserved, but in the years that followed it has only gained in momentum and has thus gained my fickle respect.
One Chord To Another represents a group effort. All four members are bona fide writers, singers, and performers. This democratic approach works well on the songs and makes for a very lovely cohesive, melodic, and harmonic listening experience. If forced, I guess the closest comparisons could be made to the highly underrated Minneapolis-based Semisonic (who ironically also appeared a bit too soon on the scene to be given much attention). Sloan’s third full-length album is a truly worthwhile listening experience—especially to fans of melodic, passionate, earnest pop-rock.
From the moment album opener The Good in Everyone floods the speakers, it is clear that Sloan wants your undivided attention. Whether or not they can keep it is entirely another question. The exuberant, lo-fi, clap-along quality of the song is what draws a listener in but the jingly, entertaining rhythms and melody are what keep all attention on Sloan. It is nothing short of brilliant, and the band manages to please in much the same way as One Chord To Another continues on.
One thing that really proves important about these songs is that the songs are short and punchy—just like any great pop album should be. Pop need not take five or six minutes to get a point across. A good pop band can manage to grab your attention and drop you like a bad habit within just three minutes. Sloan is clearly very good. Sometimes my attention wanes as with the strangely boring Nothing Left to Make Me Want to Stay, the distinctly “retro” Junior Panthers, and the bizarrely abrasive Anyone Who’s Anyone.
But even considering the songs that don’t strike a particular chord in me, it is hard to find major fault in the album as a whole. Each track works well alone and in the context of the album. Each song, even if I don’t personally enjoy it, sounds pretty decent (aside from the bad production on Anyone Who’s Anyone) and the majority of the material is very, very good if not excellent. Aside from the album opener, I also am particularly fond of Autobiography. It is with songs like this that the band’s roots are most notably showing—they clearly are indebted to The Beatles. But Sloan manages to pay homage to their influence rather than blatantly ripping them off. This is a truly excellent offering.
Also excellent are the tin-pan variety of A Side Wins, the 1970’s trumpet groove of Everything You’ve Done Wrong, the shimmery folk pop laden The Lines You Amend and the groovy retro styled Can’t Face Up. Without question, Sloan’s music is derivative. But it is also pretty impressive as the band doesn’t come off as a parody or mockery of their idols.
I am definitely impressed by One Chord To Another. It’s not perfect, but the clap-along pop anthems make up for the few pitfalls. Sloan’s disc is a must-own for fans of alt-pop/indie-rock genres. And of course, I’m betting that many Canadians already own the album—so it’s up to Americans to get with the game.
Rating: 4/5 stars
Track Listing:
01. Good In Everyone, The
02. Nothing Left To Make Me Want To Stay
03. Autobiography
04. Junior Panthers
05. G Turns To D
06. A Side Wins
07. Everything You've Done Wrong
08. Anyone Who's Anyone
09. Lines You Amend, The
10. Take The Bench
11. Can't Face Up
12. 400 Metres
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