IN REVIEW: Sloan - "Steady"

 

When you're thirty years deep into a well established career, no one really expects anything from you anymore; in the case of Sloan, what can we honestly ask of them at this point? Over the course of their twelve albums, they helped usher in a new wave of Canadian alternative rock, reinvented themselves as nostalgic power pop specialists, conquered the radio with sharp hooks, and adapted themselves as necessary while sticking close to their core sound, earning legend status among multiple generations of fans along the way. Even more impressively, they've done it all without swapping out a single member, all four of whom worked in tandem to achieve everything they've gotten over the span of their incredible and incredibly consistent career.

If we've learned anything about Sloan as fans, it's that staggering consistency that's become as much a calling card as their formidable harmonies; a couple of outliers notwithstanding, each Sloan album has arrived as a supplementary piece that only adds to their legacy. One can argue that they've perhaps gotten a little too comfortable in their creative process over the past decade or so, but is that honestly such a detriment when that consistency is fully intact?

Thirteenth album Steady arguably breaks with tradition, but only in the sense that their craft has somehow, impossibly, become elevated; perhaps it's the four and a half year gap since previous album 12, perhaps it's the extra attention the songs were afforded while we were all cooped up during the pandemic, but the Sloan we get on Steady sounds focused, energized and operating at peak efficiency. To that end, Steady also offers perhaps the band's most collaborative set of songs in years; while the hallmarks of individual members' styles lay claim to certain songs, more often than not the lines of creation are blurred. So as to say, instead of each member writing X songs individually for the album, there's far more here that sounds like the product of the four members coming together, and the songs are better for it.

To wit, opener Magical Thinking churns to life and finds a meaty riff to base its groove upon that screams out Patrick Pentland's involvement, but Chris Murphy's harmonic vocal and massive chorus give proof to the liner notes' "written by Sloan" claim. Lead single Spend the Day follows, another hard charging classic rocker that sees Pentland take the lead with thick harmonies and a squealing solo, while Jay Ferguson's presence is more heavily felt on the dreamier, janglier She Put Up What She Put Down; Murphy might be the lead singer on Human Nature, but its Beatlesque flair plays more like a Ferguson composition. Scratch the Surface is perhaps the record's most outwardly singular creation, with Pentland imposing full control through muscular riffs and classic rock references, but it's a very strong song nonetheless. Drummer Andrew Scott gets lead vocal on the A-side closer Panic on Runnymede and, though it does bear hallmarks of his typically psychedelic style, his bandmates' harmonies and strong groove paint it less as an oddity as his tunes sometimes are, and more of a slightly different flavour that still works beautifully within the context of the record.

The B-side kicks off in fine form with Dream It All Over Again, perhaps the most collaborative-sounding track on Steady; sung by Ferguson over a groovy Pentland riff and boasting a huge chorus, it's truly the sound of the band combining their powers and the resulting song is the most immediate winner they've penned in some time. Next up is Nice Work If You Can Get It, another nod to peak Beatles that hits with more massive harmonies and driving chorus; it's another melting pot of the band's influences, and it's another winner. Then, there's a slight break in energy with the Ferguson-led mid-tempo acoustic number Simply Leaving, which brings in some subtle orchestration on its chorus and provides the album's most marked detour to this point. Not to be outdone, the laid back slow jam Close Encounters follows; the album's second Scott vehicle, it filters its hazy psych-pop through a lite '70s AM lens and, though it's possibly the overall weakest track on the album, it's not bad by any means. The subtle and acoustic I Dream of Sleep is next, basically Chris Murphy's very own I'm Only Sleeping; it's as pleasant as you'd expect at this point in the album, and leads nicely to closer Keep Your Name Alive, which brings back some of Pentland's glam sheen to soundtrack a Ferguson-sung rocker.

I can't imagine a situation where fans will be unsatisfied with Steady; that said, the trio of lighter tracks all lumped together takes some of the steam out of the album and lessens the impact of the closing track which, itself, lacks a bit of urgency that lessens its impact as the closing track. Still, there are no outright duds here, only songs that aren't as good; if anything, Steady has no business being as, well, steady as it is considering Sloan is at the stage in their career where they could have easily been forgiven for coasting on fumes and relying on past glories. What a pleasure, then, to not only receive yet another great Sloan album thirty years into their storied run, but quite possibly their best overall album experience since Navy Blues.

October 21, 2022 • murderecords

Highlights She Put Up What She Put Down • Scratch the Surface • Dream It All Over Again