30 tracks on one album. Now that is value for money. Especially when you get moments of pop genius. Canadian band Sloan have released an album that provokes all those signs of greatness i.e. singing along, the playing of air guitar. There are no epics here. In fact, as a whole, this album could be summarised as the Ramones doing late period Beatles. Nothing overstays its welcome. Neat pop songs crashing into one another but managing to be part of a cohesive whole.
There is plenty of quality tunes here. "Fading into Obscurity" takes us back to Syd Barrett period Pink Floyd. "I Can't Sleep" is a piece of pure stadium rock that U2 would love (if they ever got their sense of humour back, that is). "I Understand" sound like British sing-along pop music of the seventies. You want neat and clever lyrics on the subject of fame just like Ray Davies would write? Then cast an ear to "Set in Motion". Given that we referred to the Ramones earlier in this article, it is hardly a surprise that to find that the frenetic "HFXNSHC" reminded us of that band for all its 1 minute and 12 second length. If we had to pick a favourite song then it would have to be the ultra catchy "Can't You Figure It Out?"
To hear so many good songs on one album is rare these days. This is such an album. For fans of quality pop music, this is a godsend. Slick, professional but never soulless, this is a band doing what they do best. You might hear them on the radio, you might find them on a compilation album or you might even have caught them performing live. One thing is for certain, hear one of their songs and you will want to hear them all.