Sloan was formed in Halifax, Nova Scotia in 1991, and consists of four singer-songwriters that bring their own particular touch to every composition on each of their (currently) thirteen studio albums. The roster includes Chris Murphy on bass, Jay Ferguson on guitar, Patrick Pentland on guitar and Andrew Scott on drums, and each individual band member assumes vocal duties on songs that member penned…as well as switching instruments when the situation calls for it. Despite being seen as a band of legendary status in their native Canada, finding success outside of their home country has been difficult, mainly due to the meddling of labels and management — their mid-90s falling out with DGC being a prime example.

The band is quite remarkable for a few reasons, the greatest of which is the fact that their lineup has remained constant since its inception, making each member a quarter-century veteran of the same group. Secondarily, Sloan maintains a very strong democracy in songwriting presence that pervades each and every album, save for 2003’s Action Pact, which features no contributions from Scott. Other than that, each album strives to give each member equal time in the spotlight.

Sloan is also highly adept at taking influences and stylistic reference points from other bands and artists in a way that evokes an “I’ve heard this before” feeling from the listener, yet no song feels like the product of outright theft or plagiarism, as they tend to emulate style rather than lift exact riffs. Some tracks may include instrumentation or timing that evokes comparisons, causing listeners to think “oh, this is a Rolling Stones song” or “this sounds a lot like T. Rex.”

They achieve this in a way that never causes them to come off as copycat artists, because they employ these elements as stylistic flourishes instead of jacking other artists' riffs outright — sort of like imitating an accent or dialect rather than directly quoting someone’s words. A student of classic rock will find lots of these little touches in almost all of Sloan’s song catalog, to the point where each album presents a new, fun sort of sonic scavenger hunt for those steeped in rock’s history.

Each member tends to excel at a particular style of songwriting, which gives listeners a chance to find a member that consistently strikes their particular tastes. This gives each member of Sloan a bit of “favorite Beatle” status among well-seasoned listeners. Murphy’s domain is the realm of power pop, Pentland delivers hard-rocking cuts that make up the bulk of their radio singles, Scott’s contributions are sonically dense and multifaceted, and Ferguson’s songs rival some of the best 70s AM rock anthems.