Relatively
hot on the heels of Sloan's exhaustive (and somewhat exhausting) 30-song epic Never
Hear The End Of It comes
a leaner but no less comprehensive survey of power-pop sounds past and slightly
less past, Parallel Play. "If you believe that everybody needs to shake it loose, then everyone
will rock and everybody will roll," sings guitarist Patrick Pentland on the
opening track, "Believe In Me," throwing down the gauntlet for fun, fun, fun
over the next 37 minutes. As always, Sloan owns the '60s and '70s, crafting
impeccable bop-around melodies and chipper harmonies in the form of sweeping
psychedelic ballads, soft-rock confessionals, and arena-ready ragers. Like its
predecessor, Parallel Play flows effortlessly from one song to the next like one big
sugar-fueled pop suite. It's a dazzling display of record-collection rock by
the band's four-headed songwriting team, even if some tunes in the album's
second half get lost in sticky sweet rush. With this many good songs to go
around, a few bum hooks can't kill the buzz.