Commonwealth
by Sloan
  • Record Label: Yep Roc
  • Release Date: Sep 9, 2014
Metascore
74

Generally favorable reviews - based on 9 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 8 out of 9
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 9
  3. Negative: 0 out of 9
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  1. AllMusic
    Sep 11, 2014
    80
    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.
  2. NOW Magazine
    Sep 10, 2014
    80
    Canada’s answer to the Fab Four, Sloan, are still charming after 23 years together.
  3. Magnet
    Sep 18, 2014
    75
    High concepts don't always result in high art, but Commonwealth comes close enough. [No. 113, p.61]
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  5. Consequence
    Sep 11, 2014
    75
    Commonwealth could be Sloan’s own take on The White Album, but it feels more like their answer to Abbey Road.
  6. Classic Rock Magazine
    Dec 17, 2014
    70
    This baffling mixture of the anarchy and the ecstasy takes some pulling off but the quartet has perfected the alchemical reaction. [Nov 2014, p.96]
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  7. PopMatters
    Sep 10, 2014
    70
    While this isn’t a huge step away from what the band has always done, it’s enough of one to keep it interesting for the band members and their listeners.
  8. Exclaim
    Sep 10, 2014
    70
    Commonwealth offers a little something for everyone, no matter what you're looking for.
  9. Pitchfork
    Sep 10, 2014
    69
    Commonwealth as a whole is that of a noble failure. It's an interesting experiment, albeit less fulfilling than the band's best and recent work--but quality and relative position within their deep catalog aside, the album's very existence is heartening.

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User Score
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User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2 out of 2
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 2
  3. Negative: 0 out of 2
  1. pablopicasso
    Dec 23, 2014
    10
    This is a superlative power-pop record. The wit and craft of Sloan's songwriting have doomed them to forever be cult heroes outside theirThis is a superlative power-pop record. The wit and craft of Sloan's songwriting have doomed them to forever be cult heroes outside their native Canada, where the art of fine songwriting is very much alive and kicking. But as Patrick Pentland has said in interviews, the band's lack of commercial success in the twenty-four years (and counting) of their existence has liberated them musically and lyrically, and fans are grateful that they continue doing their own thing -- beautifully -- in the face of musical fashion. Commonwealth contains all the pleasures to be found on the band's previous records. Here the distinct songwriting skills of each of the four members are showcased separately and in sequence, rather than in the usual blended way. But it is still very much a band record, as anybody who saw Sloan performing it live in 2014 can tell you. To my mind the high-point is Andrew Scott's eighteen-minute "Forty-Eight Portraits," a majestic and surprisingly-continuous suite of song-fragments, of which McCartney or Brian Wilson would be proud (like some of their work, it has been accused of self-indulgence by one or two critics who like their music instantly digestible,). It is a great way to close out a fine double-album, though in defiance of the usual logic, Sloan BEGAN their 2014 live shows by reconstructing this masterpiece of modular songwriting. Popmatters says that Sloan are The Beatles reincarnated in a different era, and the more generous reviewers have even likened the album's closing suite to the second side of Abbey Road. To my mind the real parallels are with Revolver and Pet Sounds.… Full Review »
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