Unlimited Streaming
Listen to this album in high quality now on our apps
Start my trial period and start listening to this albumEnjoy this album on Qobuz apps with your subscription
SubscribeEnjoy this album on Qobuz apps with your subscription
Digital Download
Purchase and download this album in a wide variety of formats depending on your needs.
One of the great rock clichés is that the Beatles' White Album is four solo albums in one double-LP. Leave it to Sloan, the great, progressive Canadian power pop band, to find a way to one-up the Beatles. Commonwealth, their 11th studio album (which perhaps coincidentally borrows a title from an old Beatles outtake), is divided into four distinct sides, each written and recorded by an individual bandmember. Conceptually, it's clever -- its wit is further telegraphed in how each side corresponds to a different king in a deck of playing cards -- but its construction offers opportunities for an outright mess, something Sloan skillfully avoid, likely due to their shared love of classic rock, pop, psychedelia, and glam. Every member has his own spin on these sounds: Jay Ferguson opens the proceedings with a dexterous dive into McCartney melodicism tempered with a bit of new wave; Chris Murphy picks up that thread, adding a bit of a heavier element of psychedelic swirl; Patrick Pentland devotes his four songs to a welcome blast of fuzz-toned crunch, while Andrew Scott draws things to a close with his own version of Abbey Road, a 17-minute suite called "Forty-Eight Portraits." Each side is distinctive but each also feels like Sloan and, despite its knowing construction, it's not showy, nor is it exhausting, not in the way the relentless 30-song 2006 album, Never Hear the End of It, was. By adhering to the fidelity of a side, there's a dramatic arc within every four songs and, combined, the sum is greater than the individual parts -- which is how it should be with a band.
© Stephen Thomas Erlewine /TiVo
You are currently listening to samples.
Listen to over 100 million songs with an unlimited streaming plan.
Listen to this playlist and more than 100 million songs with our unlimited streaming plans.
From CA$ 10.83/month
Sloan, Composer, MainArtist - Two Minutes for Music Ltd., SOCAN, MusicPublisher
2014 Sloan (Two Minutes for Music, Ltd.) exclusively licensed to Yep Roc Records 2014 Two Minutes for Music Ltd., SOCAN
Sloan, Composer, MainArtist - Two Minutes for Music Ltd., SOCAN, MusicPublisher
2014 Sloan (Two Minutes for Music, Ltd.) exclusively licensed to Yep Roc Records 2014 Two Minutes for Music Ltd., SOCAN
Sloan, Composer, MainArtist - Two Minutes for Music Ltd., SOCAN, MusicPublisher
2014 Sloan (Two Minutes for Music, Ltd.) exclusively licensed to Yep Roc Records 2014 Two Minutes for Music Ltd., SOCAN
Sloan, Composer, MainArtist - Two Minutes for Music Ltd., SOCAN, MusicPublisher
2014 Sloan (Two Minutes for Music, Ltd.) exclusively licensed to Yep Roc Records 2014 Two Minutes for Music Ltd., SOCAN
Sloan, Composer, MainArtist - Two Minutes for Music Ltd., SOCAN, MusicPublisher
2014 Sloan (Two Minutes for Music, Ltd.) exclusively licensed to Yep Roc Records 2014 Two Minutes for Music Ltd., SOCAN
Sloan, Composer, MainArtist - Two Minutes for Music Ltd., SOCAN, MusicPublisher
2014 Sloan (Two Minutes for Music, Ltd.) exclusively licensed to Yep Roc Records 2014 Two Minutes for Music Ltd., SOCAN
Sloan, Composer, MainArtist - Two Minutes for Music Ltd., SOCAN, MusicPublisher
2014 Sloan (Two Minutes for Music, Ltd.) exclusively licensed to Yep Roc Records 2014 Two Minutes for Music Ltd., SOCAN
Sloan, Composer, MainArtist - Two Minutes for Music Ltd., SOCAN, MusicPublisher
2014 Sloan (Two Minutes for Music, Ltd.) exclusively licensed to Yep Roc Records 2014 Two Minutes for Music Ltd., SOCAN
Sloan, Composer, MainArtist - Two Minutes for Music Ltd., SOCAN, MusicPublisher
2014 Sloan (Two Minutes for Music, Ltd.) exclusively licensed to Yep Roc Records 2014 Two Minutes for Music Ltd., SOCAN
Sloan, Composer, MainArtist - Two Minutes for Music Ltd., SOCAN, MusicPublisher
2014 Sloan (Two Minutes for Music, Ltd.) exclusively licensed to Yep Roc Records 2014 Two Minutes for Music Ltd., SOCAN
Sloan, Composer, MainArtist - Two Minutes for Music Ltd., SOCAN, MusicPublisher
2014 Sloan (Two Minutes for Music, Ltd.) exclusively licensed to Yep Roc Records 2014 Two Minutes for Music Ltd., SOCAN
Sloan, Composer, MainArtist - Two Minutes for Music Ltd., SOCAN, MusicPublisher
2014 Sloan (Two Minutes for Music, Ltd.) exclusively licensed to Yep Roc Records 2014 Two Minutes for Music Ltd., SOCAN
Sloan, Composer, MainArtist - Two Minutes for Music Ltd., SOCAN, MusicPublisher
2014 Sloan (Two Minutes for Music, Ltd.) exclusively licensed to Yep Roc Records 2014 Two Minutes for Music Ltd., SOCAN
Sloan, Composer, MainArtist - Two Minutes for Music Ltd., SOCAN, MusicPublisher
2014 Sloan (Two Minutes for Music, Ltd.) exclusively licensed to Yep Roc Records 2014 Two Minutes for Music Ltd., SOCAN
Sloan, Composer, MainArtist - Two Minutes for Music Ltd., SOCAN, MusicPublisher
2014 Sloan (Two Minutes for Music, Ltd.) exclusively licensed to Yep Roc Records 2014 Two Minutes for Music Ltd., SOCAN
Album review
One of the great rock clichés is that the Beatles' White Album is four solo albums in one double-LP. Leave it to Sloan, the great, progressive Canadian power pop band, to find a way to one-up the Beatles. Commonwealth, their 11th studio album (which perhaps coincidentally borrows a title from an old Beatles outtake), is divided into four distinct sides, each written and recorded by an individual bandmember. Conceptually, it's clever -- its wit is further telegraphed in how each side corresponds to a different king in a deck of playing cards -- but its construction offers opportunities for an outright mess, something Sloan skillfully avoid, likely due to their shared love of classic rock, pop, psychedelia, and glam. Every member has his own spin on these sounds: Jay Ferguson opens the proceedings with a dexterous dive into McCartney melodicism tempered with a bit of new wave; Chris Murphy picks up that thread, adding a bit of a heavier element of psychedelic swirl; Patrick Pentland devotes his four songs to a welcome blast of fuzz-toned crunch, while Andrew Scott draws things to a close with his own version of Abbey Road, a 17-minute suite called "Forty-Eight Portraits." Each side is distinctive but each also feels like Sloan and, despite its knowing construction, it's not showy, nor is it exhausting, not in the way the relentless 30-song 2006 album, Never Hear the End of It, was. By adhering to the fidelity of a side, there's a dramatic arc within every four songs and, combined, the sum is greater than the individual parts -- which is how it should be with a band.
© Stephen Thomas Erlewine /TiVo
About the album
- 1 disc(s) - 15 track(s)
- Total length: 00:58:22
- Main artists: Sloan
- Composer: Sloan
- Label: Yep Roc Records
- Genre: Pop/Rock Rock Alternative & Indie
2014 Sloan (Two Minutes for Music, Ltd.) exclusively licensed to Yep Roc Records 2014 Two Minutes for Music Ltd., SOCAN
Why buy on Qobuz...
-
Stream or download your music
Buy an album or an individual track. Or listen to our entire catalogue with our high-quality unlimited streaming subscriptions.
-
Zero DRM
The downloaded files belong to you, without any usage limit. You can download them as many times as you like.
-
Choose the format best suited for you
Download your purchases in a wide variety of formats (FLAC, ALAC, WAV, AIFF...) depending on your needs.
-
Listen to your purchases on our apps
Download the Qobuz apps for smartphones, tablets and computers, and listen to your purchases wherever you go.