Sloan is one of the only bands around who can take the music of classic, venerated bands, rip it off wholesale, and still end up creating something fresh, interesting, and exciting. With a few exceptions, their entire career has been based on taking the music of their heroes, boiling it down in a tasty pop stew, and calling it their own. Witness 1997's One Chord to Another-- the album was filled to the brim with Beatles songs written not by Lennon/ McCartney, but by Murphy/ Pentland/ Ferguson/ Scott.

Sure, these songs might sound like a lot of shit you've heard before but as you listen, Sloan's affectations and flourishes materialize and you hear the band for what they really are-- not a cloying, uninspired rip-off, but an intellegent band with a sense of humor and a great ear for pop hooks. Whether it's in the Fab Four disguise of One Chord, the British shoegazer aping of their DGC debut, Smeared, or seen through the swaggering filter of their recent obsession with the '70s, these songs eventually reveal themselves as the distinct product of Sloan regardless of what disguise thay might take.

It's hasn't really been that long since their last record, 1998's Navy Blues. The record took One Chord's Beatles obsession, added a few shots of Cheap Trick and a pinch of the Raspberries, and came out with one of their most affecting concoctions to date. So it only makes sense that I would be somewhat wary of Between the Bridges. The first time through, it almost seemed like they'd taken a turn down Disappointment Lane. See, instead of raiding 1970s freedom rock for ideas, Sloan seem to have grabbed a fistful of Fleetwood Mac, Todd Rundgren and, of course, the Who.

The funny thing is, that despite all odds, this ends up working just as well. Now, I'm no fan of cheesy '70s pop, but when Sloan updates the sound, something clicks. My theory: at the core, the members of Sloan are Grade A songwriters. Despite the semi- ridiculous exterior, there's virtually no fluff on this album. The lyrics are (relatively) intelligent, and the songs are put together immaculately.

After years of acceptance in their Canadian homeplace, Sloan are finally starting to get a good reputation in the United States among indie rock fans. But they've still got a long way to go-- at a recent Seattle appearance, the publicity for the show was so non-existent that no one heard about it until the day before it happened, causing infinite sadness among at least two Seattlites who didn't find out about it until too late (chiefly myself and my roommate). So wake up, you guys! If you like pop music, and you aren't already a Sloan fan, go buy this album and become one.

-Jeremy Schneyer