SLOAN
Parallel Play
(Yep Roc)
By Todd Lavoie
Ah, Sloan, you’re killing me with your songwriting wizardry! The Canadian power-pop quartet had lain down quite the serious gauntlet to all the other three-chord bashers last year with their sprawling 30-track masterwork Never Hear the End of It (Yep Roc), and here they come once again with another batch of instant anthems to show ’em what’s what.
The just-released Parallel Play (also Yep Roc) might not boast the same sense of hugeness as its predecessor – only 13 songs this go-round – but it’s just as knee-tappingly, head-bobbingly dynamic, having channeled all of the previous disc’s restless energy and fierce ambition into something a bit more compact. Better still, it seems that the guys must have gotten a massive creative boost after last year’s bold undertaking. Parallel Play presents Sloan sounding even more energized than before, and certainly more focused. As admirable and breathtaking as 2007’s offering was, the new disc is probably ultimately easier to get one’s grip around. Me, I’m in love with it already.
Time to put that psychology degree to good use and make mama proud: the term “parallel play” comes from child psychology, referring to behavior in which little tykes enjoy playing independently of each other while sharing the same space – you know, as in “Ashley stacks wooden blocks while Kelsey scribbles all over the coffee table with a new box of crayons.” You get the idea. While this term might not resonate nearly as much with other bands – I couldn’t see it connecting as much with Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings, for example, wherein everybody locks together in the pursuit of a tight groove – it definitely makes sense in the context of Sloan.