Commonwealth (Sloan album)

Last updated
Commonwealth
Sloan Commonwealth.jpg
Studio album by
ReleasedSeptember 9, 2014 (2014-09-09)
RecordedSloan Studios, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Length58:22
Label Murderecords, Yep Roc Records
Producer Sloan, Ryan Haslett, Gregory Macdonald
Sloan chronology
The Double Cross
(2011)
Commonwealth
(2014)
12
(2018)
Singles from Commonwealth
  1. "Keep Swinging (Downtown)"
    Released: July 14, 2014
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic 74/100 [1]
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [2]
Exclaim! 7/10 [3]
Pitchfork Media 6.9/10 [4]
PopMatters 7/10 [5]
TODAY Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svg [6]

Commonwealth is the eleventh studio album by Canadian rock band Sloan.

Contents

Concept and release

In 2013, the band revealed plans for a double album, with each of the four sides featuring a solo suite by a different band member. [7] In May 2014, it was announced that the new album would be titled Commonwealth and would be released in September 2014. [8] On July 14, 2014, the band announced the official release date for the album (September 9) and released the album's lead single, "Keep Swinging (Downtown)". [9] The album's cover was simultaneously released, which portrays the band members as four-of-a-kind kings. The suits of these playing cards correspond to the titles of their solo sides: Jay Ferguson's side is called Diamonds, Chris Murphy's is Hearts, Patrick Pentland's is Clubs, and Andrew Scott's is Spades. [10]

Track listing

Each suite is written and performed by its respective band member. [10]

Diamond (Ferguson):
No.TitleLength
1."We've Come This Far"1:23
2."You've Got a Lot on Your Mind"3:27
3."Three Sisters"3:49
4."Cleopatra"2:41
5."Neither Here Nor There"2:11
Heart (Murphy):
No.TitleLength
6."Carried Away"3:36
7."So Far So Good"3:13
8."Get Out"1:40
9."Misty's Beside Herself"2:49
10."You Don't Need Excuses to Be Good"3:42
Shamrock (Pentland):
No.TitleLength
11."13 (Under a Bad Sign)"2:00
12."Take It Easy"2:32
13."What's Inside"3:52
14."Keep Swinging (Downtown)"3:38
Spade (Scott):
No.TitleLength
15."Forty-Eight Portraits"17:49

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References

  1. "Commonwealth - Sloan". Metacritic. Retrieved 20 October 2014.
  2. Allmusic review
  3. McNutt, Ryan. "Sloan Commonwealth". Exclaim! . Retrieved September 11, 2014.
  4. Cox, Jamieson. "Sloan: Commonwealth". Pitchfork. Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 20 October 2014.
  5. Conaton, Chris. "Sloan: Commonwealth". PopMatters. PopMatters. Retrieved 20 October 2014.
  6. Mathews, Kevin. "Commonwealth (Sloan) 5/5". TODAY. MediaCorp. Retrieved 30 October 2014.
  7. "Sloan Reveal Plans for Solo-sided Double Album". Exclaim! . Retrieved July 14, 2014.
  8. "Sloan has defied labels over a lengthy career". Niagara this Week. Retrieved July 14, 2014.
  9. "Sloan's new "Commonwealth" is coming!". sloanmusic.com. Archived from the original on July 15, 2014. Retrieved July 14, 2014.
  10. 1 2 "Sloan Announce 'Commonwealth' Double Album, Share New Track". Exclaim! . Retrieved July 14, 2014.