Nighttime concert successful end to Homecoming weekend

--taken from: Western Gazette (read more here)

by Robert Nanni

As aromas of food and booze filled the air, Western’s Homecoming festivities came to an end last night with nighttime headliner Our Lady Peace, who followed openers Coleman Hell and Sloan.

Audience engagement was clearly Coleman Hell’s strong suit as his energy spread across the stage and into the growing crowd.

Despite the poor audience turnout for his set, Coleman Hell and his two keyboard players never lost their smiles. Occasionally referring to the crowd as “lovely purple people” and throwing a band t-shirt bouquet style, the positive tone was set for the night.

Being the lesser known of the three acts, Coleman Hell took the opportunity to plug his music. He prefaced each track with an introductory explanation, which let the audience know where the music was coming from. This made the music more relatable.

While Coleman Hell’s synth-pop banjo beats were a fun start to the concert, the night took a turn toward an older crowd with the appearance of Sloan.

With a very ’90s rock aesthetic, the audience demographic was made clear as cheers erupted for Sloan.

“Do you guys like to clap along and have fun and stuff?” asked Sloan singer and guitarist Chris Murphy to the crowd, which got the band a whopping round of applause.

Sloan’s sound was definitely a lot mellower than Coleman Hell’s, but it soon picked up into a fun power pop vibe as the set continued. The crowd was definitely ready for Our Lady Peace as Sloan’s set ended, but what came next was a bit of a disappointment to the crowd.

--taken from: Western Gazette (read more here)

AFF Review: Sloan at The Marquee

--taken from: The Coast

by Adria Young

Halifax homedogs celebrated with free donairs, the Marquee and the moon

On Saturday night, Toronto-Halifax's Sloan returned home to celebrate the 35th Atlantic Film Festival at a pass-holders special event at The Marquee Ballroom. There were also performances by The Brood, Rose Cousins and Buck 65 but I only made it for my Sloan dogs.

Just after midnight, Sloan appeared and jumped right into "If It Feels Good Do It." I suspect they played the hit from 2001's Pretty Together because it was featured on the soundtrack of How to Plan an Orgy in a Small Town, which premiered at the AFF earlier that day. They dig movies. Like, *Sloan-nerd alert* Sloan's "Everything You've Done Wrong" was featured in The Virgin Suicides and "Money City Maniacs" was on the Goon soundtrack. So that was cool.

The whole set was a mixed bag, with cuts from Commonwealth between the classics: "C'Mon C'Mon" (Navy Blues) into "Carried Away" (Commonwealth) then back into the oldies, "Good in Everyone," "Snowsuit Sound," "The Other Man," which I sang pretty loud. Patrick Pentland seemed kinda stiff. Chris Murphy gave out high-fives and was kinda goofy. Jay Ferguson seemed very chill. Sometimes Andrew Scott, probably one of the best Canadian drummers, just becomes the drum kit. They jammed another Commonwealth track ("Keep Swinging") before "Who Taught You to Live Like That?" (Never Hear the End of It), which gave way to the night's most impressive song (and my new favourite from the album): Andrew Scott's "Forty-Eight Portraits."

Last fall, Sloan released the double-LP, Commonwealth, and unlike any other release, the band made a distinction by grouping the songs by songwriter rather than mixing the tracks as usual. It was a significant stylistic change that demonstrates each member's individuality, with a pun, as well, on the band's financial and administrative policies — Commonwealth implies the band's practice of splitting everything four ways. It's probably one reason they've been able to continue working together for over 20 years. Because, and here's another *Sloan-nerd alert* moment — Sloan has always produced hits, but not everyone is writing them. And by hits, I mean radio hits; some of the most cherished Sloan songs never hit the airwaves. But airwaves = money and so the idea of 'commonwealth' works to reduce an egoistic tension in the band, and anyway, everyone is playing those songs together. But it's always been said that some Sloan songs have incredible merit and yet rarely achieve 'hit' status or whatever. I think "Forty-Eight Portraits" is one of them.

A few years ago, I interviewed Andrew for a music magazine. When he's not drumming in Sloan, he's painting in his west-end Toronto studio garage. He's an incredible visual artist, and back when he was a student at NSCAD, his grad show "48 Portraits" at the Anna Leonowens Gallery featured the installation of 48 Richter-esque dog portraits, all of which blended photorealism and monochromism that are still features of his work. In our interview, Andrew went into great detail about his creative process, about his time at NSCAD, about the influence of Richter's own "48 Portraits" and how all of his artistic practices have the same motivations.

Is it a coincidence that I got Andrew talking about his art and then a little while later, he named his epic 17-minute song on Commonwealth "Forty-Eight Portraits," as well? Maybe but I don't actually know. The timing works out, and that'd be pretty cool. But either way, *Sloan-nerd alert*

Mostly, "Forty-Eight Portraits" is a killer track and I'm glad they played (most of it) live. It starts off with a dog barking, presumably Andrew's own dog, with some noise interludes and odd piano scales, which appear all over Sloan's catalogue. Then it veers into that particular Andrew quality, which is always retained in his songwriting. Andrew's songs are always the darkest, the most experimental and the least "Sloan," even though this one has some pop-melody moments, as well, but more classic pop like ELO or the last bars of "I Want You," and then a choral ending. "There's a tunnel I can't see through," he sings. What a fucking sick and multifaceted track. It was great.

They switched it all back up and hammered out "Losing California," "The Rest of My Life," "The Lines You Amend," "Penpals," and then "Money City Maniacs," before a "Coax Me" encore. Every time I see Sloan I feel a little bit older, maybe because they look a little bit older, and we're all getting old here, but it doesn't seem to matter how many times I hear some of these songs, I still get flashbacks of moments in my life to which these songs belong. Seems appropriate that Sloan songs are on movie soundtracks when so many of the albums are life soundtracks.

At the end, I realized that the hundreds of free donairs weren't being eaten so I took home as many donairs as I could carry, which means there were about 30 donairs in my fridge all weekend and I've eaten so much fucking donair, I never want to see one again. But this donair jackpot led to some great puns made by me, including: Slonair, Twice Donaired, Donair Blues, Donair Pact, 4 Nights at the Donair Royale, and many, many more. Hopefully we get to see Sloan again soon.

--taken from: The Coast

On the Record with Taylor Knox

--taken from: Vue Weekly (read more here)

by Meaghan Baxter

VW: What were the recording sessions like for this album? Is this the kind of thing you recorded live or did you piece it together one track at a time? Why?

TK: I play drums, guitar and bass and have in the past played all of the instruments in my recordings. But I really believe in humans playing music together. I think there is something really special there—something you can’t get from jamming by yourself in a recording studio. So I invited my friends Spencer Cole (Weaves), Darcy Yates (Bahamas), Andrew Scott (Sloan) and Aaron Harvey (from my live band) to play with me, and it was such a good time. We did the most of the bed tracks live as a band, and I think you can really feel that energy in the final recordings.

--taken from: Vue Weekly (read more here)

Proudly Canadian: Sloan

--taken from: Cashbox Canada

Submitted by Cashbox Canada

The band was formed in 1991 when Chris Murphy and Andrew Scott met at the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design (NSCAD) in Halifax; Patrick Pentland and Jay Ferguson joined soon after. According to Sloan's official website, the band is named after the nickname of their friend, Jason Larson. Larsen was originally called Slow One by his French-speaking boss which, with the French accent, sounded more like "Sloan". The original agreement was that they could name the band after Larsen as long as he was on the cover of their first album. As a result, it is Larsen who appears on the cover of the Peppermint EP, which was released on the band's own label, Murderecords.

Later in 1992, Sloan released their full-length album Smeared on Geffen Records. In 1994 Geffen did not promote their second album, Twice Removed, due to artistic disputes, although it sold well in Canada. Spin named it one of the "Best Albums You Didn't Hear" in 1994. A 1996 reader poll by Canadian music magazine Chart! ranked it as the best Canadian album of all time, only two years after its release. The same poll in 2000 ranked the album third, behind Joni Mitchell's Blue and Neil Young's Harvest. However, the 2005 poll once again ranked the album first.

After the release of Twice Removed, the band went on hiatus and were rumoured to have broken up, as they had rejected Geffen's offer for their next album. In 1996, however, they released the widely praised One Chord to Anotheron their own Murderecords label. Following 1998's Navy Blues album, Sloan released their first live album 4 Nights at the Palais Royale in 1999. Those albums were followed by Between the Bridges in 1999, and Pretty Together in 2001.
Sloan made a concerted effort to break into the US market on their 2003 release Action Pact. Songs were recorded in L.A. with Tom Rothrock producing. The glossier, radio-ready sound failed to raise Sloan's profile in the US, though they continued to be highly popular in Canada.

Sloan's first compilation album A Sides Win: Singles 1992-2005, included two new songs, "All Used Up" and "Try to Make It". The Japanese release included two additional new tracks.

Now signed to Yep Roc Records for their US releases, they put out their eighth disc, Never Hear the End of It in 2006. The album contained 30 tracks with all the members of the band contributing new songs. It was met with widespread critical acclaim and became the highest charting Sloan album in the US up to that point. In 2008, Sloan followed up their longest album with their shortest release, Parallel Play.

In November 2009 Sloan added a digital music store to their website. The band released an online-only EP called Hit & Run to promote the store. The EP featured two songs by Chris Murphy, and one by each of the other band members. Murphy's Take It Upon Yourself was released as a free single. In February 2010, the band released another online exclusive, the compilation album B-Sides Win: Extras, Bonus Tracks and B-Sides 1992 - 2008.

Sloan announced plans to release a 10th album in 2011, to coincide with the 20th anniversary of their first show.

On February 22, 2011, Sloan announced that their new album would be released on May 10, 2011. The album is entitled The Double Cross, a nod to their 20th (or XX) anniversary. The album is preceded by the its first single, "Unkind".

With the release of The Double Cross, Sloan has now released a catalogue of around 175 different songs.

In promotion of the new album, a special video series produced and directed by Catherine Stockhausen has been launched on YouTube to commemorate the illustrious success of the band. Interviewed in these videos are several musicians and celebrities such as Jason Schwartzman, Joel Plaskett, Stefan Brogren, Dave Foley, Kevin Drew, Buck 65,Sebastien Grainger, The Dears, Ian D'Sa and Benjamin Kowalewicz from Billy Talent, K-OS, and Dave Hamlin. Following the completion of touring for The Double Cross, Sloan reissued and toured behind Twice Removed as a three-record vinyl box set containing the original album, rarities, and demos.
On April 24, 2013, Sloan announced the release of a hardcore punk single, Jenny b/w It's In You, It's In Me. With it comes a digital download of a hardcore covers album, as well as a T-shirt portraying the band members circa 1985.

In 2013, the band revealed plans for a double album, with each of the four sides featuring a solo suite by a different band member. In May 2014, it was announced that the new album would be titled Commonwealth and would be released in September 2014. On July 14, 2014, the band announced the official release date for the album (September 9, which turned out to be accurate) and the release of the album's first single, "Keep Swinging (Downtown)".

All four members of Sloan write their own songs, and when they play live they switch instruments accordingly. Usually the band performs as follows: Murphy is on lead vocals and plays bass, Pentland is also on lead vocals and plays lead guitar, Ferguson plays rhythm guitar, and Scott plays drums. The most notable exception is when Scott picks up the guitar to play his songs; Ferguson and Murphy switch to bass and drums, respectively. Prior to 2006's Never Hear the End of It, Ferguson and Scott would also play electric piano on songs that called for it; Gregory Macdonald now handles keyboard duties live and in the studio.

While Murphy has written more of the band's songs than any of the other members, Pentland is nonetheless responsible for having written many of Sloan's most recognizable hits. Perhaps more noteworthy, however, is the fact that every member of the group has contributed at least two songs per album, with only the following exceptions: On 1992's debut LP, Smeared, Scott and Pentland are credited with just one song each, while on 2003's Action Pact, Scott has no songs, for according to Eye Weekly, that album's producer, Tom Rothrock, essentially randomly selected tracks out of the band's submissions in the interest of creating a more streamlined sound.

--taken from: Cashbox Canada

Massey Hall, Toronto ON, September 11

--taken from: Exclaim!

by Cam Lindsay

"Once this gets going it's gonna be really good," Chris Murphy promised the full Massey Hall audience. Walking on stage to a faulty PA system wasn't what Sloan had in mind for their second-ever show at the historic Toronto venue. But they handled the 15-minute delay like champs, and they kind of had to: a multi-camera crew was on hand to document the show for what one can only assume is a forthcoming concert film. (Editor's note: the proceedings were filmed as part of the Live At Massey Hall series.) "Are the cameras capturing all of this magic?" Murphy asked. And they were. But they also caught an impromptu, fan-led run through of "O Canada" (what else would Canadians sing off the cuff?) and the band leading a PA-free sing-along of Twice Removed's "Deeper Than Beauty."

Once problems were solved, things ran like clockwork, beginning with posi-anthem "If It Feels Good Do It." Sloan were well aware of the show's significance, with Murphy asking fans, "Did anyone here see us here in 2000?" followed up with "Has anyone seen us since?" But the band's long-time fans meshed with the new ones, like a toddler named Jack who was celebrating his first-ever concert, and an unnamed little girl who later stole the show dancing and playing tambourine on stage to "Money City Maniacs."

Like any Sloan show, it was a democratic showcase for the four singer-songwriters in the band. Jay Ferguson shone with his sugary pop numbers like "C'mon C'mon," "Snowsuit Sound" and the crowd-pleasing "Who Taught You To Live Like That." Patrick Pentland chose more riff-led rockers like "Keep Swinging (Downtown)," "Ill-Placed Trust" and the crowd-pleasing "Unkind," which got everyone up on their feet.

Murphy had the bulk of the set with "The Other Man," "Carried Away" and radio hit "The Rest of My Life," which generated a massive contribution from the audience. Andrew Scott stepped out from behind the kit and was allotted time for the majority of his contribution to last year's Commonwealth, the 17-minute-long hybrid, "48 Portraits." It was an interesting choice of song to slip right into the middle of the 18-song set, but the response felt like a great divide; fans familiar with the album ate it up, while the unacquainted looked confused.

When it counted toward the show's end though, Sloan started to uncover the hits. "Money City Maniacs" is a bona fide classic in their catalogue, which inspired a spirited clap-along and the aforementioned show-stealing miss who, decked out in her Sloan tee, earned smiles and applause from the band. Murphy added, "Thank you to the little girl we rented who was supplied by Massey Hall."

Scott came out front again for a festive rendition of "People of the Sky," before they finished with their signature, "Underwhelmed," which still sounds as fresh and essential as it did when it first dropped 23 years ago.

As they approach their silver anniversary next year, Sloan still have the chops and the songbook to pull off a show that caters to both what the band and the fans want. It's a rare thing when a band so far in can do such a thing without only playing the hits, and a true testament to not only Sloan as a band, but the love their fans have for them.

--taken from: Exclaim!

Members of Sloan, Super Friendz & The Inbreds form TUNS, share first single "Throw It All Away"

--taken from: Brooklyn Vegan (steam the song, "Throw It All Away" here)

by Bill Pearis

Sloan are currently working on the 20th Anniversary special edition box set of their 1995 album One Chord to Another. While we wait, singer/bassist Chris Murphy has formed a new group, TUNS, that is a bit of a '90s Halifax supergroup. The trio also includes Chris' onetime Super Friendz bandmate Matt Murphy (no relation), as well as Mike Oneill who was one half of highly underrated duo The Inbreds. Not much else is known about TUNS -- there's a website, Instagram, and Facebook set up with nothing much there yet -- but they have released a song, "Throw It All Away." It even sounds like it could've been made in the '90s, with a just-right mid-fi production style. To my ears it sounds like Oneill takes lead vocals on this '60s inspired track (you can hear Chris Murphy on harmonies) that is very, very catchy. Can't wait to hear more. Stream it below.

Sloan's Murderrecords reissued Super Friendz' 1995 debut Mock Up, Scale Down, a couple years ago and you can stream that below. Also highly recommended is The Inbreds' 1994 debut, Kombinator, which you can stream below as well.

--taken from: Brooklyn Vegan (steam the song, "Throw It All Away" here)

Chris Murphy, Matt Murphy and Mike O'Neill Team Up as TUNS, Premiere First Single

--taken from: Exclaim! (listen to the song, "Throw It All Away" here)

by Gregory Adams

Canadian indie rock fans, behold your latest supergroup: TUNS. The band, featuring Sloan bassist/vocalist Chris Murphy, Super Friendz/Flashing Lights mastermind Matt Murphy and Inbreds frontman Mike O'Neill have just formally introduced themselves with a debut single, "Throw It All Away."

Very little has been revealed behind the project so far, but TUNS have rolled out a homepage, as well as social media accounts through Facebook, Instagram and SoundCloud. It's through the latter that the band have premiered "Throw It All Away," a song that mixes a Maritimes pop approach of honey-gummy vocal harmonies and jangled chords with a rather busy backbeat.

Though the official lineup details have not been explained, we're going to take a stab at it and say Matt Murphy is on guitar, Chris Murphy is slamming the kit, and O'Neill is handling the low-end with his bass skills. All three could be singing on the track.

This is, of course, not the first time the TUNS members' paths have crossed. Chris Murphy briefly set up shop behind the drums in Matt Murphy's Superfriendz in the '90s, while the pair had also teamed up with Jale's Jennifer Pierce as the Certain Someones. An ages-old recording of the latter was delivered as part of a Murderecords anniversary book in 2013.

O'Neill's Inbreds are also attached to the history of Murderecords, with the act having delivered singles and album releases through the label in the '90s.

Though it's as yet to be confirmed, Canadian music journalist Michael Barclay tweeted today (September 10) that TUNS will make their live debut at Toronto's second annual Dream Serenade on October 17. So far, only Hayden and Joel Plaskett have been confirmed for the Massey Hall performance, but more artist appearances are expected to be revealed shortly.

--taken from: Exclaim! (listen to the song, "Throw It All Away" here)

Sloan vs Slayer

--taken from: NOW Toronto (read the rest of Patrick's review here!)

by Patrick Pentland :)

Wait… what?! A guy in Sloan knows who Slayer are? But Sloan only listen to the Beatles and write jangly power pop. They’re too dignified (and old) to listen to thrash metal pioneers Slayer!

If you grew up in the 80s, as I did, you know who Slayer are. They were a major part of the thrash metal/punk crossover that led Iron Maiden fans to Minor Threat. I bought my fair share of RIP magazines, and one of the first bands I played in covered Hell Awaits, or at least the bit after the backward scary stuff and up to when the song got complicated.

When we were mixing 2001’s Pretty Together album at Vancouver’s Warehouse studio, Slayer had just been in to record God Hates Us All. They left a bong made out of a coffee urn and a paper towel tube with their logo scrawled on it in blue Sharpie.

--taken from: NOW Toronto (read the rest of Patrick's review here!)