Customer Reviews

Smeared

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I'm going on record as being astounded that Sloan's debut has only been reviewed three times. This is a runner up for my list of discs to take to a desert island! You may not love it as much as me but know this: I played it to death and every subsequent Sloan release, for me, is not the same. [First Frank Black solo did the same thing, so maybe it is just me.]

You should start with Take It In or Sugartune, great all-time power-pop.

Finally, in a clarification of good lyrics, can I be the first on the entire Internet [I've checked, even at Sloan dot com] to note the great play on words of the first song, "Overwhelmed", an all time jilted-nerd peon, which glorified rejection, way before Dashboard Confessional, though closer to Wonder Years in sitcomishness?

The line is

"She rolled her eyes, her beautiful eyes"
which later reappears, kind of like Shakespeare:
"She rolled her R's, her beautiful arse"

First of all, if you are a Sloan fan, you need to hear this one if only to see what kind of work Sloan did in the early 90s. A friend of mine introduced me to this band with this CD in the summer of 1994. It stood head and shoulders above other bands I was into at the time with the clever, well written lyrics and anticipation in songs such as Underwhelmed and most importantly 500 Up. A special nod goes to "The Distortion Song", my name for "I Am The Cancer" before I knew what it was really called; memories of summer '94 wouldn't be the same without this song on the soundtrack. I can't agree with those who say this is not the true Sloan. Ten years ago it was, and what an accomplishment for a young band. 4.5 Stars

Even the members of Sloan would acknowledge that this is not their best album. Their original sound is all but lost under heavy overproduction that turned their song into something geared towards the popularity of early 90s Grunge. The end result is fairly dissatisfying, with the exception of a few tracks where true Sloan sound manages to shine through the grime. If you're new to Sloan and are looking for good early albums, I'd stay away from this one. Instead, look for Twice Removed, or One Chord to Another, which are all-time favorites of mine.

I'm not hardcore and foolishly insistent in claiming that a band's first album is always its best. In this case, it may be their best, although Twice Removed is pretty darn good. This is an honest album, unashamed of modeling their sounds after the likes of My Bloody Valentine and the Beatles, while still stylizing and creating a sound of their own. "I am the Cancer" and "Underwhelmed" and "Raspberry" are a pretty good indication of where the band was and why they're where they are today.

Although Sloan have gone on, within Canada at least, to bigger and better things, this is where the band really took off musically. This is a rawer sound that the better produced stuff of late so be forewarned. It's no grunge attack but it is sharper, crisper guitar playing than the poppy rock sound they now have.

In a world of digitally compressed, shortcut power pop, Sloan get it. These guys take the impulse of British Rock in that 1966 window between Rubber Soul and Sergent Pepper--a rock full of harmonies, driving but trampoline happy chord progressions and riffs and make it into modern mod candy.

I was going to link you to some of Sloan's best albums, besides Smeared, but then I realized I'd be doing you a disservice. You should do your homework on this Canadian band, and get all their music.


Why the gushing? Well, let me do something I rarely do in reviews: try to make you hear the music. Nearly impossible. But on the first track here, "Underwhelmed," Sloan kick off with their fantastically Yesterday and Todayish voices alone, singing the course of the track. The band kicks in: unprocessed, kicking and loose, The guitar roaring, the bass sliding like Sir Paul's. You are front row 1966 with 1990s amplification. Rock on and rock along until the singer says "she said its ok," and the band drops out to let the singer declare "but I felt like I just ate my young."

Such spins the dynamic world of Sloanrock, the way rock used to spin, and regrettably does rarely now. But Sloan is like 1960s rock in this respect. Excellence is not the icing on the cake. It is the foot in the door.

Although this may not be Sloan's best album (most would suggest Twice Removed) it is an excellent collection of songs. Fans of My Bloody Valentine would appreciate this album as it is full of nicely distorted guitar work with light vocal harmonies on top. This album is similar to other sloan albums in that it contains excellently crafted songs but is quite different from other Sloan albums in style. Heavier, grunge-noise symphony replaces their later pop-rock anthem-esque stylings. Definetly an album that's enjoyable.

Sloan began life with Peppermint, an indie-produced (oh does it sound it!) power pop album. Three of its songs were cleaned up, re-recorded, and included on this major label debut. 'Marcus Said' ("...or at least he might have said" as the song cheekily intones) chugs along lazily, with an ethereal vocal track. Its scratchy guitars can sometimes be jarring, but it rocks nonetheless. 'Sugartune' is aptly named. Sticky sweet, it's built around a simple power-chord riff. "I wrote for you this sugartune to help you through what you've gotta do," it states simply enough. A pop song with desires to better the world -- a noble concept.

But the killer carryover from Peppermint is the lead track, 'Underwhelmed'. It opens with ominous end-of-the-world guitar feedback and a melodic killer hook: "She was underwhelmed if that's a word/I know it's not cause I looked it up/that's one of those skills I learned in my school". Once the drums kick in, the song's narrator is correcting his girl's grammar, dodging her dirty looks, and realizing that she's a heartless bitch. And that's all before the first chorus! It's the classic boy-meets-girl/boy-loses-girl/boy-misses-the-point pop song. And as always Chris Murphy (bass/vox) has such fun with his lyrics. You've got to love a song where the narrator, upon reading an autobiographical story about his girl's life, only says, "affection has two F's, especially when you're dealing with me". And the love interest rolls her eyes in the first verse, and rolls her R's in the last. This is still my fave Sloan song.

The rest of the album fails to measure up, though. There are some good moments, such as 'I Am The Cancer', 'Take It In' (which does Nirvana proud with it's soft verse/loud chorus structure), and '500 Up' (which features a nifty little bass breakdown). But the remainder of the disc relies too heavily on guitar distortion rather than melody. Sloan would later realize that all four members are exquisite songwriters, and they didn't have to rely as heavily on the fine work of Mr. Murphy. Thus, the later albums are jam-packed with great tunes. Here, the latter half of the album is filler. Doesn't matter, though. 'Underwhelmed' is worth the price of admission on its own.

The first full-length Sloan CD, and by far their finest... the roots of Halifax rock shine though on this disc. Underwhelmed was the first song I ever heard and fell in love with it. Had this disc for 6 years now, and I still listen to it just as much as when I bought it.

But they are even better live (see also 4 nights at the Palais Royale)...

Hi I've reviewed this record three times and I hope this is ok. I loved this record. it was a serious recording and it ruled. what else can I say. One great albumn unless you don't know much about music. and its evolution. from smeared to Navy blues. twice removed was still the best.