![\"\"](\"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sloan.jpg\")
<\/p>\nCanadian rock foursome Sloan is unusual in the context of popular music: the band has been together for more than 25 years without a single change in its lineup. Even more remarkably, all four members of the Toronto-based group sing, play multiple instruments and compose songs.<\/p>\n
And it\u2019s no leap of logic to observe that those things are related. \u201cEverybody has the same amount of real estate,\u201d quips the band\u2019s Jay Ferguson. \u201cThe four of us usually each get three songs per record.\u201d That\u2019s true on 12<\/i>, the band\u2019s latest release, though for publishing purposes, all the songs are group-credited.<\/p>\n
Ferguson says that records are a way for each band member \u2013 himself and Chris Murphy, Patrick Pentland and Andrew Scott \u2013 to express his own songwriting. \u201cWe share the songwriting royalties as well, and I think that\u2019s another ingredient that helps keep our band together. So it\u2019s a combination of the financial and artistic.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Sloan has enjoyed consistent critical acclaim for most all of its efforts since the band\u2019s debut, 1993\u2019s Smeared<\/i>. The band\u2019s sound \u2013 sometimes classified as power pop, but just as easily described as melodic indie\/alternative rock \u2013 has won it a dedicated fan base. But outside of Canada, commercial success on a grand scale hasn\u2019t really materialized.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t really know if that\u2019s a goal at this point,\u201d Ferguson says. \u201cOur goal is to make music that we like, that we enjoy, and that is good quality. You always hope that there are some new people who may join along, but also you hope that your fan base still comes along with you.\u201d He describes Sloan\u2019s collective mindset as \u201cmaintaining a career, as opposed to \u2018fingers crossed we\u2019re gonna break through.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut if it happens,\u201d he adds, \u201cthat would be great. We would probably be more prepared to deal with it now than we would have 25 years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Sloan continues to make highly-regarded music. The band\u2019s 2014 double album Commonwealth<\/i> earned some of the group\u2019s best reviews to date, and 12<\/i> (released April 6) is another consistently appealing set of memorable songs. Through decades of making albums, the band has long since figured out which creative methods work best.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe don\u2019t really use outside producers,\u201d Ferguson says. \u201cWe have our own studio; the scope of our world is sort of small.\u201d Instead of looking for inspiration by, for example, recording at a different studio, he says that he and his band mates look closer to home for new ideas. \u201cYou could be reading a book or an article in a magazine and find a turn of phrase you like,\u201d he says. \u201cIt\u2019s always the little things that spark a new idea.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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