Murderrecords

Halifax, Nova Scotia's cheekiest and chappiest take to the boards in the revisitation of the 70s' hoariest convention, the double-live album. This is tricky territory; bands got a little full of themselves live in those days, and bloat is just a 20-minute drum solo away. While 4 Nights does contain a drum solo, it's a short one. Even better, they left the bleeps, blunders and oh nos in, so what you get is a fair representation of what Sloan really sound like playing live. Nine times out of ten (there is a quite rotten version of "Sinking Ships"), the group's personality, enthusiasm, and slick songwriting make up for an admitted lack of precision. (See the self-deprecating liner notes for detailed descriptions of the band's propensity to write songs that are keys too high for them to sing.)

For the seasoned Sloan listner, I'll just say this: "She Says What She Means", "The Good In Everyone", "The Lines You Amend", "People Of The Sky", "Keep On Thinkin'", "G Turns To D", "Penpals", "On The Horizon", "Money City Maniacs", "Anyone Who's Anyone", "Iggy & Angus" … there's no Sloan left unturned.

For the novice, this is a fine chance to chard the band's progression from teeny semi-shoegazers to Anglophilic pop stars to unironic, anthemic rockers. And those girls aren't screaming along for nothing - these songs have more hooks than Babe Winkelman's tackle box.

And there's more: witty stage banter ("C'mon, it's my birthday!")! The band saying "Awwww, shit!" in unison! Repeated use of the exact same Fender Rhodes keyboard setting that Queen used on "You're My Best Friend"! NUB goes out on a limb to predict that 4 Nights At The Palais Royale will be the best double-live album released by a Canadian rock group this year.