Concert Review: Sloan’s Twice Removed makes for half of a perfect night

--taken from: National Post

by Noah Love

If you have lived in Toronto between Bathurst and Dufferin any time in the past 15 years, there is a good chance you have experienced Sloan’s omnipresence. You’ve probably seen Jay Ferguson or Andrew Scott riding a bike or Chris Murphy hanging out on College St. or Patrick Pentland at Loblaws. On a personal level, it went a bit further than that.

For three years, I lived next door to Ferguson and watched the rest of the band drift in and out from the couch. After that, I was less than a block away from Murphy. More recently, the group’s practice space was a block south of the building I moved out of in June. And from 2005-2007, I worked at now-defunct Chart Magazine, which featured Sloan on the cover more than any other band in its 18-year history. The very last of those covers was shot in my living room.

In spite of this, I have never been a diehard Sloan fan. I grew up on British and American indie rock, and Sloan existed in the peripheral. Their singles and videos were great, but I just didn’t seem to have the time for the records. I got a bit more into the band during my Chart years, mostly through osmosis. When I arrived in 2005, Sloan was on its cover again, with Twice Removed being coroneted the best Canadian album of all time by hundreds of music critics, musicians and industry people. It was the second time Twice Removed had won the critics poll — the first was in 1996, a mere two years after its release. (Joni Mitchell’s Blue took the top spot in 2000.)

Again, though, my relationship with that record is limited. Outside of People of the Sky and Coax Me, I spent more time with Twice Removed in the last week than at any other point. And that is because Sloan is touring that album, a tour that arrived at the Phoenix in Toronto on Thursday night, and which ends on Friday in Montreal. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: album tours are never a bad idea. They re-energize your fan base, and if you pick the right record, it’s an event. Given Twice Removed‘s special status among those were were in their late teens and twenties when the LP came out, this tour was a mega-event for Sloan fans.

Having said that, I don’t think you needed a superfan to get caught up in Thursday’s emotional homecoming. There is another reason why album tours are great: they combine the power of live music with the careful sequencing of a studio record. Everything feels right. And everything about Sloan’s Twice Removed set, the first of two on Thursday, went tremendously right. Even if the band rushed it a bit — delivering the album’s 12 tracks at close to its 44-minute running time — the crowd had a hand in propelling the night forward. Singalongs, clapping — nothing needed to be prompted because Twice Removed is a burned imprint on the minds of many of those who attended.

After Jale’s Jennifer Pierce appeared to reprise her part on I Can Feel It, the group left the stage for about 30 minutes, but giddy enthusiasm flowed freely in the room. What followed took a bit of the shine off the evening. Sloan returned to play somewhere in the neighbourhood of 20 songs. Many were hits, and everything sounded between pretty good and great. But songs from any album released after 2001 had a tendency to dull the energy level. The later part of the second set, which featured The Other Man and Underwhelmed, allowed Sloan to leave on a high note, but the whole thing felt like a bit of a missed opportunity.

I’m underrating it a bit. There were so few missed notes in a night-long celebration of Sloan. But this was a night where perfection was so, so close. It’s a shame it barely eluded them.

--taken from: National Post

Sloan's Jay Ferguson talks re-issue of Twice Removed

--taken from: blogTO

by Adam Kamin

For a lot of folks, Sloan's 1994 album Twice Removed is a watershed moment in the Toronto-via-Halifax band's history. For a group who would become beloved for their jaunty, infectious take on Beatles-esque pop, their career had begun a few years prior with a debut LP, Smeared, that took the best elements of the sounds du jour - namely shoegaze and Sonic Youth-inspired noise-rock - filtered through the innate pop sensibilities of four distinct songwriters.

Seeing the potential of the band at the forefront of the Halifax scene, at the time deemed the "new Seattle" following that city's grunge boom of the early '90s, Geffen Records had signed the band on an international deal for the follow-up to Smeared, as well as giving their debut it's first American release.

Twice Removed was released in August 1994, less than six months after the death of Kurt Cobain. Unfortunately, in a period marked by an explosion of derivative proto-grunge Nirvana knockoffs tailor-made for radio play, the brilliantly direct songcraft of the mostly fuzz-free Twice Removed was perceived as a disappointment by the label, who famously dropped Sloan after all but sweeping the album under the rug of the international market.

Rather than opting to throw in the towel, the band reconvened with 1996's wildly acclaimed One Chord to Another, going on to great success over seven more LPs at the helm of their own label, murderecords.

Having delivered one of the best records of a long and storied career with last year's The Double Cross - the title a reference to the band's two decades in the business - Sloan have taken the last few months to pay respect to their sophomore classic with a crazily comprehensive box set, augmented by a series of shows featuring a performance of Twice Removed in full at a sold out show at the Phoenix tonight. Guitarist and songwriter Jay Ferguson took the time to answer some questions about the various anniversaries being commemorated by the band, the initial reception to what has become one of their most beloved albums, and what's on the horizon for Sloan.

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After spending the last year promoting Sloan's 10th album and celebrating your 20th anniversary as a band, why pick now to look to the past for this series of shows?

Jay Ferguson (JF:) Some of us had been talking over the past couple years about reissuing older LPs (on vinyl or other formats) and perhaps touring one of these older LPs; playing it as a show from top to bottom. Those kinds of shows have obviously become a bit of a trend over the past few years. We thought it might be a fun idea and perhaps lure out some long lost fans who haven't kept up with us since the 1990s. After touring The Double Cross through 2011, we didn't really have a plan for this year, so it seemed like a good time to try to combine a reissue and tour for 2012.

Although it's not a particular anniversary for Twice Removed (happy 18th!), it seemed like the best place to start - it appears to be one of the records that many of our fans have a particular fondness for, and we also had a plenty of demos to choose from to really expand a reissue. As well, it was a fairly well documented time that enabled us to assemble a large, thorough book to accompany the vinyl box set.

Was there any talk of running through Smeared in its entirety prior to these performances of Twice Removed?

JF: Well, I guess it would have made sense to work chronologically, but I think we agreed that Twice Removed would be the best foot forward. We'll get to a Smeared box set, too. The version of Andrew [Scott, drummer] singing "Median Strip" has to see the light of day.

How has the reception to the tour been so far? What can be expected from the show aside from airing out the record?

JF: It's been super; good sing-a-longs. We play two sets - first up is Twice Removed in it's entirety, then a short break, after which we come back and play an all-sorts set of songs from the rest of our catalogue.

How has Twice Removed held up for the band? It's been said that there were a fair share of label issues with Geffen upon its original release, but did the band ever put any stock into these? Have your opinions of the record changed over time?

JF: I guess you might get a different answer from each of us. I've always liked the LP and while at the time the response from Geffen in the US was frustrating, it didn't mar the music for me. We've also been playing a handful of the songs ("Penpals," "Coax Me," "People Of the Sky") fairly regularly over the years, so it's not like we're unearthing something completely unfamiliar, but it's satisfying playing the LP as a united piece.

Is it true that the lyrics of "Penpals" are taken from fan letters to Kurt Cobain?

JF: Quite true. There is a recreation of the letter included with the new box set.

Twice Removed is a world away from the washed-out fuzz of Smeared and the earlier Peppermint EP, and is the first indication of the refined pop milieu Sloan has worked in since. What brought on such a sonic change from your first album? How do you see Twice Removed in relation to what followed?

JF: Personally, touring Smeared for the better part of two years was taking a toll on my eardrums. I was happy to play a little quieter at the time. I also felt that the musical climate was getting overstuffed with-half baked noisy guitar bands and wanted to take a turn away from that sound. Perhaps it was not the right thing to do commercially?

I think that was Geffen's frustration with Twice Removed, in that it didn't follow logically from the sonic template of Smeared. I/we were happy to pull from different references like Fleetwood Mac, or Plastic Ono Band, or the third Velvet Underground album, and to try to chart a different musical course that would set us apart (hopefully) from the glut of noisy indie groups that followed in the wake of (the great) My Bloody Valentine and Nirvana. It does seem that Twice Removed perhaps set the template for what followed, with every member singing and writing, and no particular set style or format of the songs contributed.

This time last year saw you give One Chord to Another a similar treatment at one of one of Fucked Up'sholiday benefit shows at the Great Hall. Are there any plans to revisit that or the other LPs for a proper tour?

JF: Since it appears this Twice Removed tour and box set have done well, I think we'll continue in the future with the box set reissue/tours for as long as fans will allow it. I think One Chord To Another would make a logical next choice.

Lastly, is there anything currently on the books in the way of new material? Has revisiting material from the band's formative years had an effect on the current songwriting process?

JF: We've yet to make a concrete plan for 2013, but hopefully we'll have a new Sloan LP out for next autumn, and then perhaps try another reissue/tour after that campaign is over. We also have a brand new 7" due out in a couple months that sounds absolutely nothing like Twice Removed.

--taken from: blogTO

Rockers give fans Twice Removed on vinyl

--taken from: NOW magazine

by Joanne Huffa

Eighteen years ago, Sloan altered the landscape of Canadian pop music with Twice Removed. Buoyed by clever lyrics, jangly guitars and meaty drums, the Halifax band’s second album was released by DGC, a label that also boasted Sonic Youth, Nirvana and Beck – decent company by any standard.

Thanks to requests by fans to see the classic album reissued on vinyl, Sloan have done just that through their own Murderecords imprint. They’re also currently winding up a Twice Removed tour in support of it.

The deluxe package includes three vinyl albums (the original, demos and outtakes), a 7-inch single with two bonus demos, high-quality digital downloads, a 32-page booklet, a copy of the letter that inspired the song Penpals and other goodies compiled for both new fans and listeners who’ve been around since the early days.

“We just played out west and heard a lot of ‘We haven’t seen you guys in 10 years,’” says singer/guitarist Jay Ferguson over tea in a Trinity-Bellwoods café a few days before flying to Newfoundland with bandmates Chris Murphy, Patrick Pentland and Andrew Scott to continue the tour.

“This show might be a little more special to some people than a regular Sloan show. [Twice Removed] was the point at which a lot of people got into our band. It seems to be the album that keeps getting brought up.”

With plans to record a new album next year and then treat 1996’s One Chord To Another to a similar deluxe reissue, the Toronto-based band is booked solid well into its third decade together. And the critical and commercial success of last year’s The Double Cross, which made the Polaris Prize long list, has certainly helped remind listeners of the group’s songwriting prowess.

“I didn’t know it could happen,” Ferguson says about Sloan’s longevity. “But it’s what I wanted. The longer I’m in a band, the more supportive I am of acts who are still together.

“You know, the Rolling Stones are rehearsing for four shows this fall and a tour next year. People are like, ‘Oh, they should give it up.’ But no, man, this is what they do. It’s almost uncharted territory – a rock ’n’ roll band that’s been playing for 50 years. How’s it going to end?”

--taken from: NOW magazine

Sloan takes tour through Maritimes

--taken from: The Chronicle Herald

Indie pop rock group Sloan will be bringing its 20th anniversary tour for its landmark second album Twice Removed to the Maritimes in February.

So far the band has shows slated for Feb. 15 at New Glasgow’s Glasgow Square Theatre and Truro’s Marigold Cultural Centre on Feb. 20. Tickets for both concerts are now available at Ticketpro outlets (1-888-311-9090 or ticketpro.ca).

Earlier this year, Sloan reissued Twice Removed as a deluxe triple-vinyl box set complete with the remastered album, plus an assortment of demo recordings, B-sides and outtakes.

--taken from: The Chronicle Herald

Bandwagon - Sloan - Coax Me

Join host Dani Stover as she drives around town with a special guest musician / band performing from the backseat. Episode 1 of Season 2 features Sloan performing "Coax Me"



-- Jay and Chris play an acoustic version of Coax Me

HOT TICKET: Sloan revisits 1994 classic

--taken from: The London Free Press

by James Reaney

Not long after rocking Brooklyn, where Toronto pal Feist joined in the encore, an iconic Canadian rock band is on the road to downtown London.

Sloan’s 40-date tour celebrating the reissue of its 1994 classic Twice Removed reaches the London Music Hall on Friday.

The band will be playing Twice Removed in its entirety and also a set of Sloan favourites.

Feist’s surprise shot in Brooklyn last month was in the latter category. “Feist joined Sloan’s Chris Murphy, Patrick Pentland, pictured at right, Jay Ferguson and Andrew Scott for a spirited rendition of She Says What She Means (from 1998’s Navy Blues) and, in embracing her rock goddess-ness, swiftly put a bright exclamation point on what was an already memorable evening of music,” said hollywoodreporter.com of that show.

Murphy’s “voice will never be the same,” said the band on sloan.com in its haha mode.

--taken from: The London Free Press

Sloan plays a powerful show at Shadow Lounge

--taken from: Trib Live

by William Loeffler

Sloan’s power pop anthems have sometimes obscured their formidable live chops. If their albums are bright and catchy but a tad restrained, it’s a different story when the Canadian quartet walks onstage.

Thursday’s show at the Shadow Lounge in East Liberty galvanized a small but vocal audience and may have rattled the stained glass windows of the church across the street. The band played their entire 1994 album “Twice Removed” before hurtling through a second set that included blistering versions of “Losing California” and “Who Taught You To Live Like That?”

The evening’s best moments came when Sloan’s arena rock drive combusted with their stingingly sweet choruses that recall the Beatles, Byrds and Beach Boys circa 1966. Bassist Chris Murphy sang like his life depended on it and drummer Andrew Scott seemed to be shooting the (Keith) Moon. Guitarists Patrick Pentland and Jay Ferguson injected rock and roll grit to “I Hate My Generation,” “Fading Into Obscurity” and “Take Good Care of the Poor Boy.”

--taken from: Trib Live

Sloan re-release Twice Removed; protect their legacy

--taken from: The Record

by Patrick Finch

Too many bands find their legacies in the hands of buffoons. One-sided record deals and oceans of legal mumbo-jumbo often keep bands and their catalogues at arm’s length. Luckily, for fans as much as for the band, Sloan has managed to keep a tight hold on their life’s work and ensure that quality control is paramount. Recently, after much demand, Sloan re-released their 1994 masterwork Twice Removed on vinyl. Packaged with an LP of demos, a third LP of unreleased material, and a wealth of never-before-seen photos, the handsome box set is the ultimate “deluxe edition”. To celebrate, Jay Ferguson, Chris Murphy, Andrew Scott, and Patrick Pentland are touring, playing the record in its entirety.

“Some of us in the band had been thinking about it for a while,” singer-guitarist Jay Ferguson tells me. “I’d kind of always wanted to do one of those back-to-back album shows; a band taking an older album and playing it back to front, sort of revisiting it. Playing it for older fans or younger fans who were too young to see the shows the first time around.

“Twice Removed originally came out on vinyl in 1994 and I think we repressed it maybe in 1997 or so, and it’s been out of print since then. So we thought we’d combine those ideas and do a tour and a reissue at the same time. Chris and I have amassed so much stuff over the years for a Sloan archive — it’s basically a race between Chris and I to see who can amass the most Sloan ephemera — we kinda thought this would be a way to put all of that stuff that we’ve saved to good use. We didn’t have a new Sloan album planned for this year, so it made sense. Chris and I spent the early part of 2012 creating the box set.”

Twice Removed was a game-changer for Sloan. They were hot in Canada and critical favourites in the U.S.; their label at the time, Geffen, hoped to find another Nirvana in the young Nova Scotians. Unfortunately, the album was not the noisy, grunge opus that Geffen had hoped for and the label promptly withdrew their support. Twice Removed would go on to be named the Greatest Canadian Album of All-Time by Chart Magazine, and it forever changed how Sloan handled their business.

“We didn’t really get dropped from Geffen,” Ferguson said. “Our band kinda broke up and then we left Geffen, basically. In Canada, Twice Removed did all right, but in America it didn’t do that great. So I think what it really taught us was that it’s difficult pleasing someone else who’s paying for what you’re doing. It’s better to do what you want to do and pay for it yourself. Which is what we learned when we did (1996’s) One Chord To Another. We did it at our own pace, at our own budget, and we didn’t have to answer to anybody. And we knew we were putting it out ourselves and paying for it ourselves. If you take the reins of your own business, I don’t know if you have a better chance or a worse chance, but you have a more satisfying business model as far as I’m concerned. And I think that’s what we learned from the Geffen experience.”

Twice Removed, despite its tumultuous birth, is still as vibrant, charming, and exhilarating today as it was when their short-sighted record label deemed it ‘not grunge enough’ to deserve adequate promotion. In fact, it is just that decidedly un-90s-ness of the album that may very well ensure that it someday stands alongside the best of Big Star and The Replacements.

“I think it sounds like a record that could have been made whenever,” Ferguson agrees. “I don’t think it has a dated sound or anything like that. But I also think the songs were good and it’s nice to know that people still remember it and still hold it in some sort of esteem.”

--taken from: The Record

The 25 greatest Canadian guitarists ever

--taken from: CBC music

15. Patrick Pentland 

As member of a band in which most of the members rotate instruments, Sloan’s Pentland has remained the lead guitarist for more than 20 years. With a repertoire that includes pop hooks ('Everything You’ve Done Wrong'), tender melodies ('I Can Feel It') and high-flying arena rock riffs ('She Says What She Means'), Pentland picks the perfect sound for each of Sloan’s 4 songwriters.

--taken from: CBC music

NOISEMAKERS EP 13: Sloan

--taken from: CHARTattack

by Dan Busheikin




Sloan’s 1994 album Twice Removed nearly broke them up. In a valiant effort to transcend the popular grunge sound of the day, the band created a collection of songs that were at once vulnerable, nuanced, and delicate. Their label, Geffen, wasn’t terribly pleased with the result, and offered little promotional support, making their U.S. tour incredibly trying. But what emerged was a treasured hallmark of Sloan’s indie rock legacy, and a record our readers voted “Best Canadian Album of All Time” twice.

Nearly twenty years later, the band – still intact, of course – have independently put together a comprehensive reissue of Twice Removed complete with b-sides, demos, and an exhaustive oral history. Sloan allowed our cameras in to their recording space to capture a performance of album cut “Worried Now,” and spoke to us about the record.

--taken from: CHARTattack