Sloan

Sloan's eighth studio album is loaded with 30 near-perfect power pop songs that overflow with airtight harmonies, Velcro-catchy hooks and unforgettable songwriting that sounds like a record store clerk's imaginary dream band comprising Badfinger's Pete Ham, Bread's David Gates, the Bee Gee's Maurice Gibb and a young Oister-era Dwight Twilley. With a bouncing melody and soaring vocals, "I Understand" recalls the spirit of '79, and "HFXNSHC" could be the future of punk.

For more than a decade, Sloan have been big in their native Canada without even reaching
Guided by Voices-level fame stateside. With thirty, count-'em, thirty songs (several of
which bleed together and clock in under two minutes), their eighth studio album is a
power-pop record that flows like the Minutemen's Double Nickels on the Dime -- but with
glam rock and acoustic balladry in the mix.