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ivan@stellysee.de
| From | "Jason Damas" <jason.damas@gmail.com> |
| Subject | Re: NSAIG...New Sloan |
| Date | Wed, 6 Dec 2006 18:59:07 -0500 |
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<< I'm with you on this one. When it's good it's great, but with so many of
the
songs clocking in at a minute and a bit, I can't help but feel they were
half way to a good song and couldn't quite come up with the big finish, or
chorus or whatever. Still, far better to have half a great album than the
dross Red Hot Chilli Peppers managed to fill 2 discs with earlier this year.
>>
For what my money's worth, I'm glad that Sloan packed the album with 30
songs, many of them with the economy of the typical Guided By Voices cut. I
think that another 15 track album with more fleshed-out cuts would've
sounded curiously like "just another Sloan album," which is a criticism that
has been (successfully) levied at them in the past. They're a decade and a
half into their career now, and they have put out at least three (if not
four) records in a row on auto-pilot mode. "Never Hear The End of It" is
really the sound of a band challenging themselves and breaking the mold
while still working within their style, and as such it's my favorite since
at least "Navy Blues." I really think that, out of the 30 tracks, there's
not a single dud. And some of those 90 second tracks are amongst my
favorites, too. I'm still listening to the record all the time and hearing
new songs and hooks all over the place... it's truly a surprise to hear them
sounding so rejuvenated so late in their career. --J
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