Navy Blues

Having weathered the demise of its most recent American label, Sloan forges on, battered but unbroken and still delivering perfect pop records; Navy Blues might just be the band's best yet, with the sheer consistency of its infectious melodies, clever lyrics, and exuberant performances pushing the group toward new creative peaks. Moving away from the ornately Beatlesesque production of the previous One Chord to Another, the sound on Navy Blues is more down and dirty, indicating a heavy Big Star influence; a track like "Iggy & Angus" certainly isn't as raw as the homages implicit in its title would suggest, but its fuzzed-out guitars and lumbering drums are nevertheless emblematic of the sonic shifts that characterize the entire record. Truth be told, there's not a weak track here, but "C'mon C'mon (We're Gonna Get It Started)," "Keep On Thinkin,'" "Chester the Molester," and "I Wanna Thank You" all go above and beyond the call of duty, each undeniably catchy and instantly memorable. ~ Jason Ankeny