Posts Tagged ‘sloan’

April 19th, 2005 is sloan all used up?

firstly, i could fart all over the web design for the a sides win site. but it did give me the opportunity for my first listen (and look) at ‘all used up’. a very nazz-like riff running through the song, it seems to have shaken off the self-conscious rock of the last few radio singles.’if it feels good do it’ had of all things, uncharacteristic “scratching” in the background, the presence of an actual producer an attempt to give the long deserving band their major label hit. but on the accompanying album ‘action pact’, they seemed like they were almost straining to carry on with the hard rock, to counter imaginary accusations of getting soft in their older age. while still capable of writing hooks, patrick pentland’s predilection for bar chords and repetition walks all over the finished product, while chris murphy’s less pensive moments come across as boorish. the real saving grace of the album is jay ferguson’s development as a songwriter, his love of the smiths and morissey clearly showing.

‘all used up’ at least brings back some of the grit found in 1998’s ‘navy blues’. the opener ’she says what she means’ is a far better cousin to ‘iifgdi’, and one has to wonder where the surprises, song splicing and playfulness has gone.