Sloancast

We join Andrew Scott in his frigid Toronto garage studio for a chat about youth, musical origins and visual art. Learn about his early band experience, about the development of his visual art praxis, and about the true meaning of his lyrical content.

In this "Sloancast snackable", we celebrate the 30th anniversary of the band's first concert (on February 8th, 1991 at the NSCAD cafeteria in Halifax) by launching a new format: join us for a live watchalong of the video footage of the concert that the band graciously shared to commemorate the occasion. 

Together with our guest Aaron Pinto, we wrap up our side-by-side dissection of Sloan's 2014 double LP, talking to the Shamrock and Spade sides. How many distinct parts of Forty-Eight Portraits can you count? 

Where does one begin when it comes to discussing Sloan's perhaps most unique album project, 2014's Commonwealth? A good starting point is to invite writer and Sloan superfan Aaron Pinto back for a chat on this contemporary-era gem. In this episode, listen to us get carried away about the complex beauty of the first LP of the double album, featuring the Diamond (Jay) and Heart (Chris) sides.

Ever wonder why Sloan hated Manitoba gigs? Or where the photos for the Party Album cover were shot? Or why Andrew's middle name isn't Bradley? With a nod to the innocence of the early internet, we take a look at fan questions from 1997 in a Q&A with Chris Murphy (presumably) from the official Sloan website. Keeping the motto "all filler, much killer" in mind, we reflect on CMM's answers from a 2020s perspective, adding our own insights into the mix.

We talk to music journalist Aaron Brophy—former Managing Editor of Chart Magazine—about Chart’s importance on the Canadian alternative music scene and its relationship with Sloan, including their two-time selection of Twice Removed as the best Canadian album of all time. We also yak about Andrew Scott’s and Chris Murphy’s skills on the ice. Apologies for slight audio quality issues; someone (Ken!) didn't do a proper sound check.

In this third instalment of our look at the 2006 album Never Hear The End Of It, we discuss the second LP and tracks 16-30 of the album. Tune in for even more minutiae on all-time favourites Such such as Ill-Placed Trust and Another Way I Could Do It.

What's that? You wanted an excruciatingly detailed analysis of Never Hear The End Of It? Luckily for you, you might not ever hear the end of our commentary on this album. Today, we take you song by song through the first LP and tracks 1 to 15 of Sloan's 2006 magnum opus. Give the album a re-listen and stream our analysis simultaneously for maximal effect. We promise, we only have a couple of hours to go on this topic before we move on.

We (finally!) begin our conversation on the greatest rock album of all time—2006's Never Hear The End Of It. In this prelude to our song-by-song examination of the album, we discuss the years leading up to its release and ponder why the album was an inevitability in Sloan's career.

How does a teenager from Malton, Ontario end up becoming the (real) star of three Sloan music videos and two Muchmusic specials? Our chat with superfan Ron Baker (known to most as "Blue Suit Ron") elucidates this and more—including the origin of Ron's famous threads.