New York, NY (Top40 Charts/ Missing Piece Group) On
September 9th,
Sloan will release their 11th studio album Commonwealth via Yep Roc Records. Yesterday, Consequence of Sound premiered the Chris Murphy-penned "Carried Away," the third preview track to be released from the forthcoming solo-sided double album.
The album is now available for pre-order and includes an immediate download of "Carried Away" along with two other advance tracks. Exclaim! premiered the "glammy, boogie-fuelled" track "Keep Swinging (Downtown)" that was written by Patrick Pentland while The A.V. Club debuted the "swooping power pop" song "
Cleopatra" that was written by Jay Ferguson.
Commonwealth sees the four bandmates disassociating ever so slightly to create an old-school double album sequenced with each member staking out a single side as their own artistic dominion.
Designated by the four French playing card suits, Commonwealth's four solo sides allow for Sloan's work to be heard through a prism of individual identity. Ferguson's thematically intertwined "Diamond" side showcases his remarkable knack for symphonic pop. Pentland's "
Shamrock" is loud, fast, and lean, the pedal-hoppin' psych rock of "What's Inside" marked by noise, ambient keys, and a general sense of the unwell." Murphy - the album's Zelig, the only member to appear on each of his three bandmates' sides - offers up exuberant tracks like "Carried Away," his "
Heart" fit to burst with wit, jangle, and eclectic energy. The album finishes with "Forty Eight Portraits," an ambitious 18-minute pop suite - replete with string section and children's choir - that encompasses the entirely of Andrew Scott's closing "Spade" side.
"I think that perhaps we are one of the few bands that could make an LP like this," says Ferguson. "Everyone could probably make their own solo LP if they wanted."
"Name another," says Murphy. "The only act that comes to mind with equally recognizable/regarded members who all write and are capable of taking the lead vocals would have been the
Beastie Boys but alas…"
Sloan will celebrate the release of Commonwealth with a long overdue US tour slated for this fall.
"Carried Away," "
Cleopatra" and "Keep Swinging (Downtown)" are available to stream and embed:
Diamond Side (Jay):
1) We've Come This Far
2) You've Got A Lot On Your Mind
3) Three Sisters
4) Cleopatra
5) Neither Here Nor There
Heart Side (Chris):
6) Carried Away
7) So Far So Good
8) Get Out
9) Misty's Beside Herself
10) You Don't Need Excuses To Be Good
Shamrock Side (Patrick):
11) 13 (Under A Bad Sign)
12) Take It Easy
13) What's Inside
14) Keep Swinging (Downtown)
Spade Side (Andrew):
15) Forty-Eight Portraits
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