TheMaker Posted April 12, 2008 Share Posted April 12, 2008 I was surprised by the content of the latest Yep Roc email to land in my inbox... The follow up to last year's 30-track epic Never Hear the End of It, new album Parallel Play finds the Canadian quartet in top form. A June 10 release date and a summer U.S. tour are planned. In accordance with Sloan's unique creative dynamics, band members Jay Ferguson, Chris Murphy, Patrick Pentland and Andrew Scott each contribute three songs to Parallel Play (with Andrew clocking in at 4). Patrick Pentland says of the Sloan process, "I think we create better separately than when we try to do it together. Some times collaboration works, but we're such different people, and all of us are capable song writers and producers, that it doesn't make sense to try to force the band to adhere to some preconceived idea of the typical rock band architecture." Less a conscious answer to NHTEOI's ambitious unabridged length, "Parallel Play" is a boiled down continuation of the musical concepts put forth on their last album and a further exploration of the band's four-songwriter dynamic. A term taken from the science of developmental psychology, parallel play is a behavior seen in young children in which they enjoy independent activities in the company of other children, something the four boys in Sloan know a lot about. The track listing and songwriting credits for Parallel Play are as follows: 1. Believe In Me - PATRICK2. Cheap Champagne - JAY3. All I Am Is All You’re Not - CHRIS4. Emergency 911 - ANDREW5. Burn For It - PATRICK6. Witch's Wand - JAY7. The Dogs - ANDREW8. Living The Dream - CHRIS9. The Other Side - PATRICK10. Down In The Basement - ANDREW11. If I Could Change Your Mind - JAY12. I'm Not A Kid Anymore - CHRIS13. Too Many - ANDREW Looks like they've abandoned their longstanding practice of releasing the album in Canada first on murderecords and then waiting the better part of a year for the U.S. release. Interesting... Figured I'd share, since there seems to be a fair few Sloan fans on this board. I thought NHTEOI was a genuine return to form, so I'm pretty pumped about this announcement. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Kalle Posted April 12, 2008 Share Posted April 12, 2008 Sweet! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
TCP Posted April 12, 2008 Share Posted April 12, 2008 Sloan! One of my favorite "mainstream" rock bands! Excellent. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
TheMaker Posted April 26, 2008 Author Share Posted April 26, 2008 Hooray! This is streaming in full on Yep Roc's site. (And it's another good one, thankfully, not the phoned-in April Wine crap they were dead set on producing for a while there.) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
thecanuck Posted April 27, 2008 Share Posted April 27, 2008 yeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!!!!!! this is great news! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
lizish Posted April 27, 2008 Share Posted April 27, 2008 looks like a good proportion of Patrick songs. Good! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
GtrPlyr Posted April 27, 2008 Share Posted April 27, 2008 looks like a good proportion of Patrick songs. Good!Which means we should be in for some hook laden rockers Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Dr. Steve Brule Posted April 28, 2008 Share Posted April 28, 2008 I think it's funny that it's taken them this long to be influenced by Dylan. 10. Down In The Basement - ANDREW Quote Link to post Share on other sites
EL the Famous Posted April 28, 2008 Share Posted April 28, 2008 wow. this is really fucking good. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
TheMaker Posted April 28, 2008 Author Share Posted April 28, 2008 After a bunch of listens this weekend (while suffering through the worst stomach flu of my life, guh) I can honestly say that I find this to be their best work since Between the Bridges, released almost a decade ago. And that track of Andrew's is absolutely a a Dylan pastiche. I love how disparate his tunes are here, and I love how amazing Jay's are. Witch's Wand is absolutely one of the best songs these guys have ever released. Good stuff! This + MMJ's Evil Urges = the sound of my summer, most likely. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Kalle Posted April 28, 2008 Share Posted April 28, 2008 Can anyone PM a link or where to find this. GD libble and their lack of Canadian content. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Wendy Posted April 28, 2008 Share Posted April 28, 2008 http://store.yeproc.com/album.php?id=13402 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Kalle Posted April 29, 2008 Share Posted April 29, 2008 Awesome thanks Wendy! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
solace Posted April 29, 2008 Share Posted April 29, 2008 I'm Not A Kid Anymore = so Spoon it hurts, and i love it Quote Link to post Share on other sites
EL the Famous Posted April 30, 2008 Share Posted April 30, 2008 I'm Not A Kid Anymore = so Spoon it hurts, and i love it my favorite track and, as i put on my blog, my favorite song about the struggle w/ adulthood since 'I'm an Adult Now' by The Pursuit of Happiness. they finally cracked the code for me. i've always appreciated the band and i really dig a lot of their tunes...but i've always stopped short of categorizing myself as a 'real fan'. this album has officially pushed me over the edge. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
solace Posted April 30, 2008 Share Posted April 30, 2008 ah... i love this record, but wouldn't put it in their top 3 by ANY means... maybe top 5 though Quote Link to post Share on other sites
EL the Famous Posted April 30, 2008 Share Posted April 30, 2008 see, that's interesting to me...it's the first full sloan album i've really enjoyed front to back. until this point, it's just been a handful of tracks on each that i've really liked. ah well, to each their own. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
solace Posted April 30, 2008 Share Posted April 30, 2008 soundwise, it's actually not THAT far off their older stuff, certainly more than their last few. what records did you check out in full? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mjpuczko Posted April 30, 2008 Share Posted April 30, 2008 i've never even heard sloan. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
solace Posted April 30, 2008 Share Posted April 30, 2008 i've never even heard sloan. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mjpuczko Posted April 30, 2008 Share Posted April 30, 2008 thanks but i have no sound at work right now! damn dell pc's Quote Link to post Share on other sites
EL the Famous Posted April 30, 2008 Share Posted April 30, 2008 soundwise, it's actually not THAT far off their older stuff, certainly more than their last few. what records did you check out in full? you name it, i've given it a try. they've each had a slew of tracks I really like, but either the slower jams have been too slow or the rockers have ended up sounding redundant. this time around, they've all gelled for me. 'one chord to another' came close and 'pretty together' almost did it...but there were few tunes that stopped them short from being a total package. what can i say. seeing them live last summer helped peak my interest even more...it was a fun show. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Kalle Posted April 30, 2008 Share Posted April 30, 2008 It sounds pretty awesome! Sloan are quite consistent I find and this album is no exception. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Dr. Steve Brule Posted May 1, 2008 Share Posted May 1, 2008 I don't know if I like it. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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