Sloan - Can't You Figure It Out?

Nirvana and Oasis were the soundtrack to the 90s in US and the UK, but for Canucks like me, it was all about the four lads from Halifax.

Never Hear The End Of It was one of my favourite albums of 2006 (their best since Between The Bridges).

Let's hope Yep Rock is good to them!

(I mean, Yep Roc. Oops!)

I first heard of Sloan at the tail end of my college years, when a friend gave me a promo copy of Smeared. I thought it OK, but listening to it then made me feel like they were a bit of a grunge knock-off band; sort of like Bush, but with more agreeable results. Then, I heard pretty much nothing from them for the next 10 years, except for a couple of acquaintances who swore they were better than that impression I had, however, I never had (or maybe took) the opportunity to hear any other records by them.

That all changed when I picked up Action Pact…that CD stayed in my heavy rotation for like a year. It’s killer. And it helped to open my eyes to what a great band they really are. Since then I’ve been picking up pieces from their back catalog every now and again, and I continue to be impressed. Makes me wish I was still in college when Twice Removed came out.

I’m really happy that they’ve kept at it long enough for me to finally come around. While I hold out some hope that they’ll get some long-overdue respect in the States, I think they’re justifiably satisfied with what they’ve done, regardless of its American commercial impact. And you can bet that I’m really looking forward to seeing them live at St. Andrew’s on the 20th. My only regret is that it’ll have taken me so long to come around to it.