Year in Rock 2011 Nominee: Sloan

SLOAN
I've Gotta Know

From: The Double Cross
Released: May 10

Given the tumultuous history of the band, it's sort of amazing to consider that Sloan has survived for twenty years with the entire original lineup intact.  Being hailed as the next big thing from the get-go, then having your record label fail to promote your second album and drop you like a bad habit only two years later is strenuous enough to push a band to call it quits, and they very nearly did.  Now we know that not only did Sloan not break up, but they founded their own record label and self-released One Chord to Another, their brilliant third album, in 1996 (I still consider that album to be their best).  After a string of three lukewarm-to-poorly received albums (from 1999's Between the Bridges to 2003's failed U.S. comeback Action Pact), there was plenty of talk about Sloan hanging it up for good.


However, their 2005 greatest hits package rejuvenated the group, and the sprawling (and aptly titled) 30 track smorgasbord Never Hear the End of It followed the next year.  They streamlined that throw-everything-in-the-pot approach for Parallel Play in 2008; the album was a diverse and engaging listen, and cemented them in the U.S. as indie favourites (indeed, many bloggers from both sides of the border now hail Twice Removed, the aforementioned album that cost them their Geffen contract, as their misunderstood masterpiece).

Then, in summer of 2009, the band was dealt another cruel twist of fate when Chris Murphy was the victim of a hit and run accident that broke his collarbone and forced Sloan to cancel a number of tour dates.  Of course, Murphy healed nicely, and the band celebrated his brush with death by naming an online EP released late in 2009 Hit & Run.  Then, after taking it easy in 2010, Sloan set out to celebrate their twentieth year in existence by releasing cheekily titled The Double Cross in May. 

The Double Cross feels like a good nostalgic trip without relying too heavily on nostalgia.  So as to say, it's a solid Sloan album.  Their sounds have always (even arguably on their grunge soaked first two albums) been rooted in classic rock and pop.  That hasn't changed on The Double Cross; the four players' harmonies and intertwining musical abilities have earned them a reputation as a rare beast in rock, where no one member steals all the thunder.  Again, all four members get their due here, though Jay Ferguson and Andrew Scott's contributions are a little weaker than Chris Murphy and Patrick Pentland's.

When it comes to which song to include in Year in Rock 2011, Pentland gets the nod for the no-muss, no-fuss quick little ditty I've Gotta Know.  In and out in just 82 seconds, the track explodes with fuzz and fun, a blisteringly paced and suitably crunchy sugar pill that's a fantastic pop song for the ADHD generation.