After a few hours of hardcore audio editing over the weekend, I sat down Monday morning all ready to write the intro to this new live set from Toronto's Sloan. But a quick visit over to Chromewaves revealed that Frank had already done most of the work for me, nice guy that he is. Like him, it's been over a decade since I'd first seen Sloan, way back when they played the Sub Pop Vermonstress fest in October '92. I'd only heard their recorded debut, the excellent "Peppermint EP", at that point, as the full-length "Smeared" had only been out a couple weeks when the festival hit. But between those two releases and their too-short live set that day, they'd found another fan.
In the nearly 15 years (!) since, I've been occasionally guilty of taking Sloan for granted. I've picked up most of their releases over time, and while they all have their highs and lows, those peaks and valleys have never been drastic enough to either get me overly-excited or totally turned-off. They are the aging, yet ever-dependable, utility player of the power-pop lineup. But with the recent release of the 30-song "Never Hear The End Of It" on Yep Roc, they've kicked off what could be their record season. In terms of overall hooks-per-minute, it's leaps above anything they've put out in years. If forced to give one criticism, I'd only say what many other reviewers already have: "too much of a good thing". As admirable an accomplishment such a solid collection is, sustaining interest for 30 songs is almost too much for any band to pull off (although in these days of shuffled playlists, that issue is easily avoided).
Their live appearance at Cambridge's Middle East Downstairs a couple weeks back almost suffered from the same pure-pop overload, but I found myself sticking around and bobbing my head through the entire 30-song ('natch) set. Like the album, the songs came fast and furiously, many of them blending together, with the only real breaks coming when the band members switched instruments. They're able to balance the four songwriters and their multi-instrumental talents with ease, and the fact that they've lasted so long without a single lineup change is a testament to that.
Here's the entire set, with many of the songs left conjoined for your listening pleasure. Be sure to check out the links below for a bunch of Sloan info, including details of Yep Roc's new "30 Days of Sloan" promotion...
Here's a bonus aural curio for ya: At that Vermonstress fest back in 1992, Sloan unveiled an early live version of the song "Ill-Placed Trust", which, I believe, remained unrecorded until an entirely transformed version appeared on the new album (and in the live set above). Here's that 15 year-old song, in its infancy...
Check out some other comments on the same set at the official Sloan show page.
In addition to that Toronto show report that Chromewaves posted a couple days back, here's a link to Franks always-ace concert photos.
Harmonium Music reviewed "Never Hear The End Of It", and offered up a couple of other Mp3s from the album: "Fading Into Obscurity" and "Someone I Can Be True With". Go here and scroll down for a listen.
Starting this week, Yep Roc Records launched "30 Days of Sloan", during which they're sharing a new Sloan video clip every (business) day leading up to the band's performance at a SXSW label showcase in mid-March. Each free behind-the-scenes vid will appear through both a YouTube group and an iTunes video podcast, and you can check Yep Roc's site for those updated links as well. The firstcouple installments are up, and as it shows, we're in for a fairly in-depth look into the making of "Never Hear The End Of It".
Remember, you can easily listen to all the music shared on the Almanac through the Hype Machine.
A postscript: Speaking of the Hype Machine, I had the pleasure of hanging with both H.M. creator Anthony Volodkin and fellow Boston music blogger Paul Irish of Aurgasm at this very show. Anthony was in town for Mashup Camp 3, where H.M. ended up winning "Best Mashup" for the way it brings together music, live concerts, and video content. It's well deserved, and having met its creator, I'm even happier to send more traffic his way... he's an open-minded music fan who seems to be in it for the right reasons. I'm looking forward to seeing how the Hype Machine grows, evolves, and hopefully sticks around for awhile.
the ever-loving fine print... If anyone has an issue with this live set being made available, just say the word (contact info in the 'nac faq). Recorded with a Sony ECM-719 mic and a Sony MZ-RH10 minidisc, converted to .wav and then edited to 192kbps mp3s. Tracks are made available for a limited time, and are not reposted once removed.
