Sloan — A-Sides Win: Singles 1992-2005

A-Sides Win: Singles 1992-2005

Vik/Sony BMG

Bryan Borzykowski (CHARTattack)

05/03/2005 3:38pm

Don't be fooled into thinking this is a Sloan greatest hits release. As the title indicates, A-Sides Win collects all of Sloan's singles from their days as Canada's Nirvana, to their current status as hipster heroes. Fortunately, a lot of Sloan's singles are great songs. "Underwhelmed," Smeared's fuzzed out harmony drenched answer to "Smells Like Teen Spirit," is still as catchy and memorable as it was back in 1992, while Twice Removed's "Coax Me" maintains its delicate posture 11 years on.

Of course, for the diehard fans there are two new singles, "All Used Up" and "Try To Make It." The first is a typical Patrick Pentland rocker, complete with nasally vocals and Zeppelin-esque riffs, while the second — and better of the two — is a melodic, keyboard-laden Chris Murphy number. The record's 16 songs succeed in documenting Sloan's changing sounds, but its intention is to target the casual fan, and for them, this record can't get much better.