Sloan: The Double Cross

Sloan
The Double Cross
Yep Roc Records [2011]









Fire Note Says: Sloan celebrate 20 years of stylistic power pop on their excellent (and maybe best) 10th album The Double Cross!

Album Review:
Easily my favorite band from up North, Canada's Sloan now are celebrating 20 years in the business with the release of their 10th album The Double Cross (get it XX)! This record continues their resurgence and solid streak of albums that started with their Yep Roc debut Never Hear The End Of It [2006], as it once again embraces the songwriting and lead vocal rotation from all four members. With any other band, this approach would absolutely not work but Sloan handles this juggled style with maturity, as the songs skillfully blend into one another at every transition and really will have you guessing start and stop points of tracks. Basically, Sloan does not mess with a successful formula on The Double Cross as the album boosts plenty of power pop rock harmonies like on "The Answer Was You", a thoughtful acoustic number in "Green Gardens, Cold Montreal" and no fear at times in order to give you a surprise, as "Beverly Terrace" features a cool injected reprise of "Shadow Of Love" with about 30 seconds left. The Double Cross still will probably not break Sloan out in the States but at this point - who cares. The band is still at the top of their game and with the ability to create catchy tunes like these in a 33 minute album, you just never know - maybe world domination will happen in the bands next twenty years!

Key Tracks: "Follow The Leader", "Unkind", "Green Gardens, Cold Montreal"

Bands With Similar Fire:
Squeeze
Zumpano
Wings

Sloan: B Sides Win: Extras, Bonus Tracks And B-Sides 1992-2008 [Fire Note Review 10/20/10]
Sloan: Hit & Run [EP] [Fire Note Review 12/9/09]
Sloan: Parallel Play [Fire Note Review 6/9/08]
Sloan: Never Hear The End Of It [Fire Note Review 12/22/06]

Sloan Website
Sloan Myspace
Sloan Facebook
Yep Rec Records

-Reviewed by Christopher Anthony