Gallantly Streaming: Sloan Revisits HFXNSHC On New Hardcore 7"

Everyone knows Sloan for their twenty-plus years of cranking out groovy, sometimes sugary doses of nostalgic pop/rock. However, they're well documented lovers of early 80's hardcore as well. Their 2006 album Never Hear The End Of It had the peppy, 72 second HFXNSHC (or, Halifax Nova Scotia Hardcore) hidden at the 24-spot of the sprawling album's 30 tracks. It sped by practically unnoticed on the album, but it now proves to be a formidable harbinger.

On Tuesday, Sloan is putting 500 hand-numbered copies of a new, limited edition hardcore 7" up for sale at their official site. The record, comprised of two Sloan originals, can be streamed in its (four minutes and change) entirety below. If you like what you hear, you'd best be at the site at noon (Eastern Time) on Tuesday to claim yours. At a glance, $25 for a 7" seems kind of steep (although maybe not if you've seen what some of this year's Record Store Day exclusives are going for).

As it turns out, what you get for your $25 is a pretty good bargain; not only do you get a rare, likely to be highly sought after single, you also get an exclusive T-shirt. But perhaps the most intriguing part of the bundle is the 12-song digital album you get with it, which features Sloan doing covers of hardcore classics by the likes of Minor Threat, The Descendents, Black Flag and Bad Religion. All in all, pretty exciting stuff.

Comments

Year in Rock 2025

Alright, I've got some explaining to do. By now anyone who's visited this blog is well aware of how infrequently I've used this space in recent years; aside from the occasional fertile year of content, I really haven't posted all that often over the last five years or so. There are many reasons for this, which have already been outlined in previous apology posts; but, essentially, it boils down to my own laziness and the cold reality that blogs are, like Refused (again), fucking dead. So, I wouldn't hold my breath for a triumphant return to reviews, or even semi-regular posts, but: a) I feel like Year in Rock posts have always belonged here and, even though I've experimented with different methods of presentation recently and been satisfied, the "blink and you missed it" unveiling via Facebook stories this year was perhaps ultimately a disservice to the records I lauded. After all, cramming the list into short videos isn't too far off from ju...

Year in Rock 2013 Nominee: Arctic Monkeys

ARCTIC MONKEYS Do I Wanna Know? From: AM Released: September 10 That Year in Rock 2012's Single of the Year R U Mine? ended up on this album is pleasing, and it fits the motif well enough. But R U Mine? isn't what makes Arctic Monkeys' fifth album an Album of the Year contender. Sweaty, sultry and pulsing with sexual energy, AM is the kind of record that's just as effective whether you're chilling out after a long day, staring into a mirror prepping yourself for a late night clubbing session or setting the mood for some escapades in the boudoir.

Year in Rock 2023: Album of the Year #10-1

Now we're getting somewhere; the top ten, where there are no duds or mids, only bangers. Also, no more teasing it out; let's wrap this up! What I've learned this year from my ten faves this year is that it is indeed still possible for a dude approaching his fifties to more or less stay up to date on the new school. Of course, there are some listed here that got a boost from playing tribute to the old school, but there is an undercurrent happening in rock that points to the future. But, I'm getting ahead of myself; here come the champs. 10 MILITARIE GUN Life Under the Gun June 23, 2023 • Loma Vista Highlights Very High Will Logic Never Fucked Up Once Rising from the ranks of the still-potent L.A. hardcore scene, the debut record from Militarie Gun (following a trio of EPs) bears a dash of polish that's expected with backing from a larger label; the tension and energy remain, though, resulting in one of the catchiest hardcore albums I can think of in recent years. 9 ...

SOUND BITES

Search This Blog