Commonwealth (Sloan album)

Commonwealth
Studio album by Sloan
Released September 9, 2014
Recorded at Sloan Studios, Toronto, Ontario
Length 58:22
Label Murderecords, Yep Roc Records
Producer Sloan, Ryan Haslett, Gregory Macdonald
Sloan chronology

The Double Cross
(2011)		 Commonwealth
(2014)
Singles from Commonwealth
  1. "Keep Swinging (Downtown)"
    Released: July 14, 2014
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source Rating
Metacritic 74/100[1]
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic [2]
Exclaim! 7/10[3]
Pitchfork Media 6.9/10 [4]
PopMatters 7/10 [5]
TODAY [6]

Commonwealth is the eleventh studio album by Canadian rock band, Sloan. The album debuted at #9 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart, which is the band's highest position on that chart in their history.

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 will be titled Commonwealth and will be released in September 2014.[8] On July 14, 2014, the band announced the official release date for the album (September 9) and the release of the album's first single, "Keep Swinging (Downtown)".[9] Additionally, the band announced the availability for pre-order of the album on ITunes. 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 Diamond, Chris Murphy's is Heart, Patrick Pentland's is Shamrock, and Andrew Scott's is Spade.[10]

Track listing

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

Diamond (Ferguson):
No. Title Length
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. Title Length
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. Title Length
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. Title Length
15. "Forty-Eight Portraits"   17:49

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. Retrieved July 14, 2014.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 "Sloan Announce 'Commonwealth' Double Album, Share New Track". Exclaim!. Retrieved July 14, 2014.