Smeared

Smeared Artist: Sloan
Label: Murder Records
Category: Music


Average customer rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Format: Original recording reissued
Media: Audio CD
Number Of Discs: 1


UPC: 600704403727
EAN: 0600704403727
ASIN: B00000DD4M


Release Date: 1998-10-20

Smeared


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Categories | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music
Indie Rock Indie Rock
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Tracks:

  1. Underwhelmed
  2. Raspberry
  3. I Am The Cancer
  4. Median Strip
  5. Take It In
  6. 500 Up
  7. Marcus Said
  8. Sugartune
  9. Left Of Centre
  10. Lemonzinger
  11. Two Seater
  12. What's There To Decide?

Similar Items:

  1. One Chord to Another
  2. Twice Removed

Amazon.com

At the start of <I>Smeared</I>, their 1992 debut album, Canadian power-poppers Sloan parody the confessional: "She was underwhelmed, if that's a word / I know it's not 'cause I looked it up / It's one of those skills I learned in my school / I was overwhelmed / I'm sure of that one 'cause I learned it back in grade school." The knowing wit and bite hardly let up on the rest of the disc, which further upends the expected niceness quotient with titles like "I Am the Cancer" and guitars that rip as much as they shimmer. Posies fans, take note. <I>--Rickey Wright</I>

Customer Reviews:

4 out of 5 stars Can-Rock Classic.......2005-03-10

Although this may not be Sloan's best album (most would suggest Twice Removed) it is an excellent collection of songs. Fans of My Bloody Valentine would appreciate this album as it is full of nicely distorted guitar work with light vocal harmonies on top. This album is similar to other sloan albums in that it contains excellently crafted songs but is quite different from other Sloan albums in style. Heavier, grunge-noise symphony replaces their later pop-rock anthem-esque stylings. Definetly an album that's enjoyable.

4 out of 5 stars Excellent for its time, very good now.......2004-08-10

First of all, if you are a Sloan fan, you need to hear this one if only to see what kind of work Sloan did in the early 90s. A friend of mine introduced me to this band with this CD in the summer of 1994. It stood head and shoulders above other bands I was into at the time with the clever, well written lyrics and anticipation in songs such as Underwhelmed and most importantly 500 Up. A special nod goes to "The Distortion Song", my name for "I Am The Cancer" before I knew what it was really called; memories of summer '94 wouldn't be the same without this song on the soundtrack. I can't agree with those who say this is not the true Sloan. Ten years ago it was, and what an accomplishment for a young band. 4.5 Stars

3 out of 5 stars Not their best.......2003-12-29

Even the members of Sloan would acknowledge that this is not their best album. Their original sound is all but lost under heavy overproduction that turned their song into something geared towards the popularity of early 90s Grunge. The end result is fairly dissatisfying, with the exception of a few tracks where true Sloan sound manages to shine through the grime. If you're new to Sloan and are looking for good early albums, I'd stay away from this one. Instead, look for Twice Removed, or One Chord to Another, which are all-time favorites of mine.

4 out of 5 stars It's not the grammar, it's the feeling..........2000-10-18

Sloan began life with Peppermint, an indie-produced (oh does it sound it!) power pop album. Three of its songs were cleaned up, re-recorded, and included on this major label debut. 'Marcus Said' ("...or at least he might have said" as the song cheekily intones) chugs along lazily, with an ethereal vocal track. Its scratchy guitars can sometimes be jarring, but it rocks nonetheless. 'Sugartune' is aptly named. Sticky sweet, it's built around a simple power-chord riff. "I wrote for you this sugartune to help you through what you've gotta do," it states simply enough. A pop song with desires to better the world -- a noble concept.

But the killer carryover from Peppermint is the lead track, 'Underwhelmed'. It opens with ominous end-of-the-world guitar feedback and a melodic killer hook: "She was underwhelmed if that's a word/I know it's not cause I looked it up/that's one of those skills I learned in my school". Once the drums kick in, the song's narrator is correcting his girl's grammar, dodging her dirty looks, and realizing that she's a heartless bitch. And that's all before the first chorus! It's the classic boy-meets-girl/boy-loses-girl/boy-misses-the-point pop song. And as always Chris Murphy (bass/vox) has such fun with his lyrics. You've got to love a song where the narrator, upon reading an autobiographical story about his girl's life, only says, "affection has two F's, especially when you're dealing with me". And the love interest rolls her eyes in the first verse, and rolls her R's in the last. This is still my fave Sloan song.

The rest of the album fails to measure up, though. There are some good moments, such as 'I Am The Cancer', 'Take It In' (which does Nirvana proud with it's soft verse/loud chorus structure), and '500 Up' (which features a nifty little bass breakdown). But the remainder of the disc relies too heavily on guitar distortion rather than melody. Sloan would later realize that all four members are exquisite songwriters, and they didn't have to rely as heavily on the fine work of Mr. Murphy. Thus, the later albums are jam-packed with great tunes. Here, the latter half of the album is filler. Doesn't matter, though. 'Underwhelmed' is worth the price of admission on its own.

1 out of 5 stars

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