One Chord to Another (Enclave)
by Katy Shea
Initial listening to Sloan‘s new CD, One Chord to Another, could lead one to believe that this Nova Scotia-based foursome worked “Eight Days a Week” to come up with this album that will “Please Please Me” as they travel “Within You Without You” and maybe picked up a “Revolver” but basically they “hope you will enjoy the show.” Get it yet? Sloan = The Fab Four, The Mop Tops… the Beatles, dummy. The vocals (and harmonies especially) are examples of almost perfect mimicry of those other two guys who grew up with monarchs on their money (in case you’re still not getting this, that would be Lennon and McCartney). However, lest they be openly condemned for what many have and will surely categorize as a way-derivative overly-influenced release, we are forced to realize as we listen on through the tracks that many of these songs are just about as catchy as catchy gets and most of the tunes hold up after several listens. “Everything You’ve Done Wrong,” which has been getting some fairly heavy video play on Much Music (and MTV as well, if memory serves) integrates some very Sgt. Pepper’s -style horns with a sweet melody line, requisite Beatlesque lines like “don’t hide yourself away,” and “in your life you get so high…” and ends up being one of those tunes that although, yes, derivative and not entirely original, tugs naggingly at your shirt until you are forced to admit that it is a well-written pop tune and that yes, you like it… OK?
Some of the more experimental tracks on the album, such as “Anyone Who’s Anyone,” don’t fare quite as well, but there are enough solid tunes, like “The Lines You Amend,” opening track “The Good in Everyone,” and “Autobiography,” to make this CD worth taking a listen to and display enough talent to make Sloan a band that will undoubtedly spark interest. Although their press release anticipates the critique by explaining that “the influences are always used as a means rather than an end,” it will be up to Sloan to decide whether they want to believe that or take this spark as an opportunity to grow and mature into a style that is more uniquely their own. If they don’t, that spark will most likely fade as quickly as the fallen ash off my cigarette.