Sloan Sides Win: Singles 1992-2005 CD

Between the years of 1992 and 2005, the Canadian quartet Sloan released numerous studio albums and the 1999 live document 4 NIGHTS AT THE PALAIS ROYALE. Sloan's combination of chiming, hook-heavy power pop and '70s hard-rock riffing lends itself perfectly to a singles format, making A SIDES WIN: SINGLES 1992-2005 a definitive document of the band's winning charms. The set begins with "Underwhelmed," the band's debut single, and continues through the garage-y "The Good in Everyone," the sunshine pop of "Everything You've Done Wrong," the ringing melodies of "Losing California," and the sleek, infectious rock of "All Used Up."

Sloan pushes all the right buttons with its high-octane guitar rock and knack for irrepressible hooks, referencing everyone from the Beatles to Big Star to Kiss along the way. Their sunny, memorable tunes enjoyed enormous success in Canada, but Sloan never got the attention they deserved in the States. A SIDES WIN, a beautifully packaged and sequenced collection, should help rectify that situation.

Live Recording

Recording information: Chemical Sound, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Conway Studios, Hollywood, CA; Idea of East, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada; Megawatt Studio, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Power Line Park, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Sloan's Space, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada; Soundmarket Studio, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada; Waterfront Studio, Hoboken, NJ.

Photographer: Jannie McInnes.

Sloan: Jay Ferguson, Patrick Pentland (vocals, guitar); Chris Murphy (vocals, bass guitar); Andrew Scott (drums).

Audio Mixers: Jim Rondinelli; Laurence Currie; Tom Rothrock; Chris Shaw ; Daryl Smith; Dave Ogilvie; Sloan.

Magnet (pp.88-89) - "[N]early every track here sounds like a classic...A SIDES WIN is an infectious reminder of the Halifax quartet's way with a riff and a hook."