Sloan 12 2018

This is Sloan's twelfth studio record. The first one was in 1992. Same four members, all write songs, sing, and play multiple instruments. They range from pure innocent power pop to Cheap Trick bashing power pop, and everything power pop between.

And they are brilliant. Not every release has been perfect, but more often than not they hit it out of the park. 1994's Twice Removed is highly regarded, and 1998's Navy Blues and 1999's Between The Bridges were close to ideal. In 2006 Never Hear The End Of It set a new bar for the band, as well as showing a remarkable ability to produce a ton of good songs. And 2014's Commonwealth was another high-water mark.

So, twelve records in, do they still have it? Oh boy do they. As much as I like several individual songs, I really enjoy the record as a whole.

The record opens with Spin Our Wheels, a perfect slice of pop nirvana. Right To Roam welds the Raspberries and the Left Banke into saccharine heaven. Don't Stop is simple and delightfully straightforward. Similarly, A Lion's Share sounds like BigStar jamming with Beach Boys. Big loud Cheap Trick-styled power pop infuses Wish Upon A Satellite and The Day Will Be Mine. Add in the almost CSNY-ish Gone For Good and The Pink Floyd-like 14 Teenagers that closes the record, and there's a lot going on here.

And again, I must point out that this is one worth putting on and listening to right through. Not all of them are quite this good. If you're on the fence, don't worry. They're on the good foot this time. Again.