New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Today, Canadian indie-rockers
Sloan released their 11th studio album Commonwealth via Yep Roc Records. The new album is a 15-song collection that sees
Sloan creating one of the most unique and ambitious recordings of their two-decade-plus career. To celebrate the album's release, the band has announced a second run of US tour dates including Detroit, Cleveland, New York, Boston, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C.
Last week, the album streamed exclusively via Pitchfork Advance alongside new releases by Hiss Golden Messenger and Tennis. Recently, Consequence of Sound premiered "Carried Away" and said, "the chamber pop track plays to [Chris] Murphy's knack for writing radio-ready hits, complete with a doubly infectious melody," while the A.V. Club debuted the "swooping power pop" song "Cleopatra."
The Toronto-based rock quartet is perhaps the most truly democratic group in the annals of pop, with Jay Ferguson, Chris Murphy, Patrick Pentland, and Andrew Scott all contributing original compositions to each record, equal partners with equal say over every aspect of their work. Where in the past creative lines have been blurred to create the multi-faceted
Sloan sound, Commonwealth sees the four bandmates disassociating ever so slightly to create an old-school double album sequenced with each member staking out a single side as their own artistic dominion.
Sam Gnerre of the Daily Breeze in Los Angeles said the bands' latest effort "shows just how talented the members of
Sloan are, and how skillfully they manage to fit their various influences into a unified whole," while Ryan McNutt of Exclaim! says "Commonwealth offers a little something for everyone, no matter what you're looking for."
Commonwealth follows 2011's The
Double Cross, which earned
Sloan some of the most glowing notices of their acclaimed career. Designated by the four playing card suits, the essentially solo sides allow for all four members' work to at last be heard through the prism of individual identity. Ferguson's opening Diamond side showcases his remarkable knack for symphonic pop, Pentland's Shamrock offers a substantial helping of pedal-hoppin' psych rock, and Murphy's
Heart is fit to burst with wit, jangle, and eclectic energy. As if the four-sided concept weren't challenge enough, Commonwealth finishes with Forty Eight Portraits, an ingenious 18-minute pop suite that fills the entirety of Scott's closing Spade side. Ultimately, what makes Commonwealth so special - and so distinctly
Sloan - is how the fragmented approach in fact only serves to underscore the veteran band's extraordinary strengths, showcasing the particular ingredients without ever losing sight of the sum of their parts.
US Tour Dates:
10/10: Minneapolis, MN - Turf Club
10/19: Portland, OR - Star Theatre
10/20: Seattle, WA - Tractor Tavern
10/22: San Francisco, CA - Rickshaw Stop
10/23: Los Angeles, CA - Bootleg Theatre
11/7: Cleveland, OH - Grog Shop
11/8: Detroit, MI - St. Andrew's Hall
11/9: Buffalo, NY - The Tralf
11/10: Hamden, CT - The Ballroom
11/12: New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom
11/13: Boston, MA - Great Scott
11/14: Washington, DC - Rock and Roll Hotel
11/15: Carrboro, NC - Cat's Cradle
11/16: Philadelphia, PA - Boot and Saddle
Diamond Side (Jay):
1) We've Come This Far
2) You've Got A Lot On Your Mind
3) Three Sisters
4) Cleopatra
5) Neither Here Nor There
Heart Side (Chris):
6) Carried Away
7) So Far So Good
8) Get Out
9) Misty's Beside Herself
10) You Don't Need Excuses To Be Good
Shamrock Side (Patrick):
11) 13 (Under A Bad Sign)
12) Take It Easy
13) What's Inside
14) Keep Swinging (Downtown)
Spade Side (Andrew):
15) Forty-Eight Portraits
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