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One Chord to Another
by Sloan
By Webjockey Billsbillsbills
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SLOAN!
Canada, the birthplace of so many premium rock bands, proved fertile ground for Sloan, a quartet of modern rockers who have produced two of the country's most critically acclaimed records. Chart! magazine named their second full-length record, Twice Removed, Canada’s best album of all time in 1996. Years later, only Joni Mitchell's Blue and Neil Young's H Harvest have jockeyed for that top spot.
One Chord to Another, their third full-length record, was released in 1996. You may not be familiar with this whole record but maybe you know "Everything You’ve Done Wrong" from The Virgin Suicides soundtrack. Despite Sophia Coppola's morose vibe for the film, this gem is a happy horns-flavored tune with handclaps and a jangly, jumpy guitar riff; a '90s rock classic that simply ignores the dominating grunge trends heralded by Pearl Jam and Nirvana.
Sloan was undeniably influenced by the Beatles. Not only in their sound with psychedelic-sounding tambourines, eastern strings, simplistic drum-brushed parts and vocals, the lyricism is there, too. Sad songs about women and love, repenting and feeling ashamed abound. The second track, "Nothing Left to Make Me Want to Stay," is striking in its modernity; they have a timeless sound that doesn't sound dated or derivative and is focused on chords, choruses and vocals that sound, in this case, a little like Jets to Brazil (late 90s Jawbreaker-bred Brooklyn rock band).
The sixth track, "A Side Wins," is a bit of a break from a dominant quick-to-the-punch three minute rock song formula that prevails until the last few songs. It's a slow, piano driven amble into a simple drum part in which lead singer Chris Murphy sings "Where is my camera?" and "I raise my glass to the cut and dry…to the B-sides." A toast to mediocrity, perhaps, not wholly uncommon from a modest Canadian rock band. Here they achieve a Spoon-like sound, a Texan band that put out their first EP the year Chord was released.
One of the last shining stars is "The Lines You Amend," another sun-drenched rock song with a welcome tambourine and the occasional brief guitar interjection that achieves a classic American rock sound. More handclaps push forward the undeniable joy of a simpler time in rock music when there wasn’t so much skinny denim, non-prescription glasses and pretension.
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