Sloan's debut album,
Smeared is a bit of a mess, as the group tries to combine catchy pop melodies with punky rhythms and washes of dissonant feedback borrowed straight from
Sonic Youth and
My Bloody Valentine records. Those aren't the only two influences that are apparent on
Smeared -- references to all sorts of American indie rock, from
the Velvet Underground to
Nirvana, are scattered throughout the record.
Sloan, surprisingly, can harness these diverse influences into a winning combination of sighing melodies and swirling guitars, and while the band's songwriting is occasionally a little unfocused, the best songs -- "Underwhelmed," "Two Seater," "I Am the Cancer," "What's There to Decide?" -- are quite impressive. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine