Sloan (Canadian power pop band)

Sloan is a Canadian rock band formed in Halifax, Nova Scotia in 1991. Sloan has released fourteen full-length albums and has received nine Juno Award nominations, winning one. Between 1996 and 2016, Sloan was among the top 75 best-selling Canadian artists in Canada and among the top 25 best-selling Canadian bands in Canada. The band is known for the sharing of songwriting and lead vocals from each member of the group and their unaltered line-up throughout their career. Although formed in Halifax, the band is now based in Toronto. Chris Murphy was introduced to Jay Ferguson through Matt Murphy in 1986. The three played together in a band called "The Deluxe Boys". The group disbanded in 1987 and Ferguson and Murphy formed the band Kearney Lake Rd. with Henri Sangalang in October of that year. In 1989, Murphy met and befriended Andrew Scott. Kearney Lake Rd. broke up in early 1990. That same year, Murphy and Scott were attending the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design (NSCAD) in Halifax and began jamming together. Ferguson started jamming with Murphy and Scott and they began searching for a bass player. Murphy knew of Patrick Pentland's vocal and guitar abilities from Pentland's previous bands and offered him a spot in the band. Pentland accepted, and Sloan was formed in late January 1991. The band's name comes from their friend, Jason Larsen. Larsen had been nicknamed "Slow One" by his boss, though it sounded more like "Sloan" in the boss's French accent. The original agreement was that they could name the band after Larsen as long as he was on the cover of their first album. As a result, it is Larsen who appears on the cover of the Peppermint EP. On February 8, 1991, Sloan played their first concert at an art show at NSCAD University. Murphy and Pentland switched roles shortly after, with Pentland now playing guitar and Murphy playing bass. Through a battle of the bands-type gig, the band earned a spot on the DTK Records compilation Here and Now and a session with local producer Terry Pulliam at his Soundmarket Studios. The band took the opportunity to record an album's worth of songs. One of the songs recorded was "Underwhelmed", which was selected for the Hear and Now '92 compilation. The band attracted interest from Canadian record labels Nettwerk and MCA Canada. After attracting interest from Todd Sullivan, an A&R representative at Geffen Records, a copy of Sloan's Pulliam sessions was sent to Sullivan. After seeing Sloan perform in Vancouver, Sullivan committed to Sloan and the band signed to Geffen in the summer of 1992. That same year, Sloan released their first recording, the EP Peppermint. It was released on the band's own label, Murderecords. On October 1, 1992, Sloan released their debut full-length album, Smeared, on Geffen in Canada. Smeared was released in the United States in January 1993. The lead single from the album was a re-recorded version of "Underwhelmed", which was a hit in Canada and peaked at No. 25 on Billboard's Modern Rock Tracks chart in the U.S. In 1993, Sloan embarked on a 10-week North American tour, which included dates opening for The Lemonheads. 1993 was also the debut of SloanNet, one of the first Canadian music fan community on the World Wide Web. The band then later began recording their second album. The recordings for the album were a departure from the shoegazer-grunge style on the band's previous album, which did not please Geffen. When Sloan refused Geffen's request to re-record the album, Geffen pulled promotional support for it. In 1994, the band released the second album, which was titled Twice Removed. Spin named the album one of the "Best Albums You Didn't Hear" in 1994. In early 1995, rumours began circulating that Sloan was contemplating breaking up. Though they played a handful of shows in the summer of 1995, including a headlining gig at Edgefest, the band did indeed consider themselves broken up by late 1995. Even so, Sloan decided to release another album to help their Murderecords label financially and boost its profile. Though Geffen wanted to keep Sloan on the label, the band wanted to leave and Sloan was released from the label. In 1996, Sloan released One Chord to Another on Murderecords in Canada. The album featured three hit singles and would go on to sell over 80,000 copies, becoming their best-selling album in Canada to date. In 1997, the band won their first Juno Award, winning the "Best Alternative Album" award for One Chord to Another. In 1998, the band released Navy Blues, which was certified gold in Canada. In 1999, Sloan released their first live album, 4 Nights at the Palais Royale. The live album was followed that same year by their next studio album, Between the Bridges. In 2001, Sloan signed a licensing agreement with BMG Music Canada. That same year, Sloan released their next album, Pretty Together. Sloan made a concerted effort to break into the US market on their 2003 release Action Pact. Songs were recorded in Los Angeles with Tom Rothrock producing. The glossier, radio-ready sound failed to raise Sloan's profile in the US, though they continued to be popular in Canada. In 2005, Sloan released their first compilation album, A Sides Win: Singles 1992-2005. The album included two new songs, "All Used Up" and "Try to Make It". The Japanese release included two additional new tracks. Now signed to Yep Roc Records for their US releases, Sloan released their eighth album, entitled Never Hear the End of It, in 2006. The album contained 30 tracks with all the members of the band contributing new songs. It was met with widespread critical acclaim and became the first Sloan album to chart in the United States. In 2008, Sloan followed up their longest album with their shortest ever release at the time, Parallel Play. In November 2009, Sloan added a digital music store to their website. To promote the store, the band released an online-only EP titled Hit & Run. The song Take It Upon Yourself was released as a free single. In February 2010, the band released another online exclusive, the compilation album B-Sides Win: Extras, Bonus Tracks and B-Sides 1992–2008. Sloan announced plans to release a 10th album in 2011, to coincide with the 20th anniversary of their first show. On February 22, 2011, Sloan announced that their new album would be released on May 10, 2011. The album was entitled The Double Cross, a nod to their 20th (or XX) anniversary. The album was preceded by its first single, "Unkind". In promotion of the new album, a special video series produced and directed by Catherine Stockhausen was launched on YouTube to celebrate the band's success and renown. The videos featured interviews with musicians and celebrities such as Jason Schwartzman, Joel Plaskett, Stefan Brogren, Dave Foley, Kevin Drew, Buck 65, Sebastien Grainger, The Dears, Ian D'Sa and Benjamin Kowalewicz from Billy Talent, K-OS, and Dave Hamlin. Following the completion of touring for The Double Cross, Sloan reissued and toured behind Twice Removed as a three-record vinyl box set containing the original album, rarities and demos. They toured North America, where they played Twice Removed in its entirety, followed by additional sets of songs that don't appear on the album. On April 24, 2013, Sloan announced the release of a hardcore punk 7" single, Jenny b/w It's In You, It's In Me. Pre-orders of the single also included a T-shirt portraying the band members circa 1985, and a bonus digital download of 12 additional hardcore covers performed by Sloan. Some of the bands covered included Minor Threat, The Descendents, Angry Samoans, 7 Seconds, Black Flag and The Nils. In 2021, Sloan compiled and released the two originals and all 12 punk covers together as part of the 12” vinyl album, This One’s an Original. Between 2011 and 2013, Sloan also released three limited edition live "bootleg" LPs from their archives: Is That All I Get? (1993 September Twentieth – Recorded Live On Patrick's Birthday) (2011), Australia