Sloan

Sloan ranks among the most durable and potent pop ensembles across North America by fusing the sharp wit and drive of alternative rock with the memorable melodies and choruses of vintage power pop. The quartet’s four skilled composers helped establish the group as one of Canada’s most successful and acclaimed acts throughout the 1990s, and they maintained a substantial domestic audience well into the following decade. Inadequate promotion kept them from duplicating that popularity south of the border, yet they cultivated a devoted underground following in the United States, where their 1996 release One Chord to Another emerged as a landmark recording on both sides of the border and positioned them among the leading figures of the late-’90s power-pop resurgence. The band also maintained an admirable steadiness, remaining inventive and melodic while displaying an openness to new approaches on the thirty-track epic Never Hear the End of It (2006), allotting each songwriter an entire side of material on 2018’s 12, and preserving a cohesive identity even while assembling tracks intermittently for the 2022 album Steady.

Drummer Andrew Scott, bassist and vocalist Chris Murphy, guitarist and vocalist Patrick Pentland, and guitarist and vocalist Jay Ferguson came together as Sloan in Halifax, Nova Scotia, in 1991. Ferguson and Murphy had earlier performed in the regional outfit Kearney Lake Rd., which drew from American underground acts such as R.E.M. and the Minutemen. Scott and Pentland likewise participated in several local groups, but the four musicians did not coalesce until Murphy and Scott encountered one another as students at the Nova Scotia School of Art and Design. The band made its live debut in spring 1991, and its feedback-heavy performances quickly attracted a large local crowd. By year’s end the track “Underwhelmed” appeared on the Halifax compilation Hear & Now. Early in 1992 the group issued the Peppermint EP on its own Murderecords imprint, and by summer it had secured a deal with DGC. The debut album Smeared, which juxtaposed Sonic Youth textures with Beatlesque pop, reached Canadian stores in October and American outlets in January 1993, earning favorable notices. Although the record achieved gold status in Canada, strong reviews failed to generate comparable U.S. sales despite support slots with the Lemonheads and fIREHOSE. The domestic breakthrough nevertheless triggered short-lived industry attention toward “the Halifax scene,” benefiting acts including Eric’s Trip, Thrush Hermit, the Hardship Post, and Jale.

For the follow-up, Twice Removed (1994), Sloan streamlined its approach, emphasizing melodic, hook-driven power pop. DGC requested a noisier result, but the musicians prevailed in preserving a bright, tuneful sound. Even so, the label provided little promotion after release, particularly in the United States, despite positive reviews and robust Canadian sales. The band toured extensively; Chart! magazine later named the album “The Best Canadian Album of All Time,” and Spin included it among the “Best Albums You Didn’t Hear This Year,” yet DGC offered minimal backing. By year’s end the members canceled remaining dates and weighed whether to continue their career.

Sloan resurfaced in summer 1995 with several concerts and the Murderecords single “Same Old Flame.” During the break, Scott launched Maker’s Mark and joined the Sadies, Murphy played drums with the Super Friendz, Pentland composed new material, and Ferguson staffed Murderecords, managed the Inbreds, and co-produced a Local Rabbits record. Late that summer the quartet resolved to stay together, and that winter they recorded One Chord to Another, extending the melodic direction of Twice Removed on a modest budget. Despite its unassuming origins, the album became a major Canadian success following its June 1996 release.

After prolonged discussions, Sloan signed with the new EMI subsidiary Enclave in early 1997, enabling a U.S. release of One Chord to Another that spring to widespread critical acclaim. Navy Blues appeared the next year. Murderecords issued the double live set 4 Nights at the Palais Royale in 1999 along with the studio album Between the Bridges. Pretty Together followed in 2001 and Action Pact in 2003. The retrospective A Sides Win: Singles 1992-2005 surfaced in spring 2005. The following year the band delivered its eighth studio effort, the self-recorded Never Hear the End of It—containing contributions from all four members—on Murderecords in Canada and Yep Roc in the United States. Parallel Play arrived in 2008, succeeded by the Hit & Run EP (2009) and Double Cross (2011).

The group’s egalitarian songwriting reached an extreme on the expansive double album Commonwealth (2014). Each of the four sides comprised a suite written by one member, spotlighting their distinct styles; Scott’s contribution consisted of a single eighteen-minute piece. Commonwealth received favorable notices upon its September 2014 release.

In 2016 Sloan marked the twentieth anniversary of One Chord to Another with an expanded box-set edition and a tour that presented the album in its entirety each night. The year closed with the holiday single “Kids Come Back Again at Christmas” b/w “December 25.” In 2018 the band issued its twelfth album, simply titled 12, which likewise contained twelve songs—three per member—and supported the record with dates across Canada and the United States.

While touring in support of a vinyl box-set reissue of Navy Blues, Sloan was forced home when the COVID-19 pandemic closed venues throughout North America in March 2020. With live work suspended, the members chose to compose fresh material and begin their next record. Although they frequently worked apart and rarely shared the same studio, they adjusted to the constraints and explored new techniques, such as tracking drums on a four-track cassette machine—an approach previously tested on One Chord to Another. The resulting thirteenth studio album, Steady, appeared in October 2022, three months before the thirtieth anniversary of Smeared.