Sloan consists of Andrew Scott (drums), Chris Murphy (bass, vocals), Jay Ferguson (guitar, vocals), Patrick Pentland (guitar, vocals).
Sloan is a power pop quartet from Halifax, Nova Scotia. The band was formed in 1991 when Chris Murphy and Andrew Scott met at the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design ( NSCAD) in Halifax; Patrick Pentland and Jay Ferguson joined soon after. In 1992 the band created their own record label, Murderecords, for themselves and other Halifax area bands, and released the Peppermint EP. Later in 1992 they released their full-length album Smeared on Geffen Records.
In 1994 Geffen did not promote Sloan's second album, Twice Removed, although it sold well in Canada. Spin Magazine named it one of the "Best Albums You Didn't Hear" in 1994. As well, it was named the best Canadian album ever recorded in a 1996 reader poll by the Canadian music magazine Chart, and again in 2005.
After being dropped from the Geffen roster, the band went on hiatus and were rumoured to have broken up, but in 1996 they released the widely praised One Chord to Another on their own Murderecords label. They continue to release albums, including 1999's live album 4 Nights at the Palais Royale. In 2003, they released their ninth album, Action Pact. They now have a U.S. record deal with Koch Records.
All four members of Sloan write their own songs, and when they play live they switch instruments, accordingly. Murphy plays bass, sometimes guitar, and sometimes drums, Pentland plays guitar, Scott plays drums, keyboards, and sometimes guitar, and Ferguson plays guitar and sometimes bass. All four members of the band perform vocals. Although Murphy originally wrote the bulk of the songs, on their recent albums he shares head-writing duties with Pentland, while Scott and Ferguson play a less significant role. Scott has no songs on Action Pact because he was too busy as a new father.
According to Sloan's official website, the band's name refers to a friend's nickname. Their friend Jason Larsen was called "slow one" by his French-speaking boss, which with a French accent sounds like "Sloan". The name stuck for Larsen, who appeared on the cover of the Peppermint EP.
