Andrew Scott, left, Jay Ferguson, Chris Murphy and Patrick Pentland, members of the band Sloan, get together at the Gladstone Hotel on Wednesday.
by Natalie Chu
Halifax rockers, turned Toronto residents, new 15-track album, Commonwealth, drops Sept. 9
Call it a feat or just the inevitable, Canadian indie-rockers Sloan are back with new music.
“We’re like Country Style coffee instead of Starbucks,” joked drummer Andrew Scott. “I mean we’ve managed to stay around for so long.”
Scott along with fellow-band members Patrick Pentland, Jay Ferguson and Chris Murphy met for an interview at Queen Street West’s Gladstone Hotel to discuss the upcoming release of their 11th studio album, Commonwealth.
“It was a great, fun project that we wanted to do for a long time,” said Pentland. “Commonwealth is like a statement of sorts, and it looks good written out.”
The Halifax rockers, turned Toronto residents, knew they were going to settle with a four-card motif on their album artwork, signifying each individual’s side of music.
The first single off the album, ‘Keep Swinging (Downtown)’, written by Pentland is a catchy rock number reminiscent of the veterans’ previous offerings.
“With four people, we split everything four ways,” Pentland added in regards to the album’s direction. For Sloan, sharing the songwriting has always been part of their history as a band, but this time it’s a little more distinct.
“We’re one of the few bands that have four singer-songwriters in the band, so we could do something like this,” said guitarist Ferguson.
Listeners can look forward to a 15-track album with equal contributions from all members, including Scott’s side, a 17-minute magnum opus track ‘Forty-Eight Portraits’.
“I mean, we know that in this day in age we have to be on our feet to stay relevant, so we tried to be creative and put something out there that was unique,” Scott said.
Sloan, who celebrated two decades in the business with their album Double Cross in 2011, have long since been praised for their prolific songwriting and staying power.
But despite each member’s individual talents and musicality, nobody has released a solo album. Does Commonwealth, essentially four solo EPs, signal a change?
“It could be. I mean, I guess so,” said Murphy. “The recording process was not much different than what we normally do, it was really more of just a sequencing difference,” he said.
Murphy attributes the band’s willingness to embrace the juxtaposition of each member’s musical styles to their success. While the album may not be seen as a traditionally cohesive whole, it works.
“This was the time to do it. This doesn’t mean that we’re now solo acts any more than we ever have been,” he said.
Music aside, the ability for the members to co-exist as friends over the past twenty years has been equally impressive. What has been the secret to their longevity?
“Well, if there was a secret we wouldn’t tell you,” Pentland laughed. “But there have been other bands, like Rush, that have lasted as well.”
Murphy agreed, adding there’s another, more practical element. “Well, you make sure everybody’s paid the same so that no one’s going off as a millionaire. And that’s all you can do, really.”
They may not be invincible, but how long Sloan will stick around is still anyone’s guess.
“There’s always an end in sight, especially when you reach middle-age,” Scott said. “But I don’t think any one of us sits around panicking about the potential end,” he said.
“We just keep doing what we’re doing and when it’s over, it’s over.”
Commonwealth will be released September 9.
--taken from: Inside Toronto
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