Very very few Canadian bands that came to prominence in the post-Nirvana alternative music boom have managed to stick it out this long. Nearly 20 years down the road however, Sloan is still standing tall. Sure, the band has fallen into a safe rut over the course of the last handful of albums, but they look to break that with the release of their new EP Hit and Run.
Hit and Run actually serves as a pretty decent survey of Sloan's output. The album opener "Take It Upon Yourself" features big hooks and a classic Sloan power pop riff. The band's beautiful melodies and vocal harmonies are front and centre on "Midnight Mass". For the album closer "Oh Dear Diary", the quartet pull out their best Rubber Soul-era Beatles impression for a swirling ditty.
Some of Sloan's less admirable styles are also on display. For example, "Is It Never" is the kind of plodding, overproduced track that has been all too common from the band lately.
Thanksfully, "Where Are You Now?" jerks us back to the pleasant with a rough-around-the-edges rock sound that the band seemed to lose sometime in the mid-90s. I for one am ecstatic that they've rediscovered it.
Don't believe me? Preview the EP yourself here:
Best tracks: "Where Are You Now?", "Take It Upon Yourself"
Track listing for Hit and Run:
- Take It Upon Yourself
- Midnight Mass
- Is It Never
- Where Are You Now?
- Oh Dear Diary
Sloan's Myspace
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