Based On The Best Seller (Wallet)

They dont make bands like Sloan anymore, or at least if they do, theyre not making it into the spotlight. Sloan manages to be both exciting and consistent: they write rock & roll songs with hooks to die for and play them with a strength and spirit that puts them far ahead of most acts who fall into the broad category of power pop, a moniker that doesnt quite capture their considerable punch and imagination. And most remarkably, Sloan keep making great album after great album. In the year 2025, there are precious few bands extant with their track record, and they seem incapable of slipping into mediocrity, making LP after LP that sound like worthy follow-ups to 1996s One Chord to Another or 1998s Navy Blues. 2025s Based on the Best Seller is Sloans 14th album, and it has everything you could ask for from a pop-leaning rock band: killer tunes, plenty of swagger and spirit, guitar crunch for days, expert harmonies, a first-rate rhythm section, and production that captures their many virtues with clean concision and no excess treacle. "Dream Destroyer" and "So Far Down" boast the pomp and pride of vintage glam rock, "Open Your Umbrellas" and "Fortune Teller" suggest the influence of mid-period Beatles without sounding like a pale shadow in comparison (the latter even throws in some Brian Wilson accents for good measure), "Baxter" adds just the right amount of grungy snot, "Congratulations" would be a sure AM smash in another era without sacrificing its smarts, "No Damn Fears" has a bassline thats pure hard rock muscle, and "I Already Know" is a kiss-off that sounds sweetly sad even while its a bit venomous. The particulars of Based on the Best Seller probably come to no surprise to folks who have been following Sloans career since their mid-1990s breakthrough, but the continued excellence might. Jay Ferguson (guitar and vocals), Patrick Pentland (guitar and vocals), Chris Murphy (bass and vocals), and Andrew Scott (drums and vocals) write and play with the same mojo that made them heroes, and producer Ryan Haslett knows how to document their sound with no needless fuss. Some bands connect this well for one or two albums, but Sloan have turned this into a long and remarkable career, and Based on the Best Seller remarkably shows theyre not finished, not by a long shot. ~ Mark Deming