Between The Bridges

Between The Bridges is a brilliant, soaring album of pop music that harks back to the heyday of the genre, dipping in and out of the 1960s and seventies for inspiration as it lurches from power pop to prog rock, and from bubblegum to disco, with quite a few stops in between.

The Canadian quartet of erstwhile grungers - Jay Ferguson, Chris Murphy, Patrick Pentland and

Andrew Scott - have left their (Pearl) jamming sessions behind them and reinvented themselves as a fab four for the kids of today. The guitars jingle and jangle like Harrison in his heyday, the vocals split their time between power pop singalongs and soaring Byrdsian melodies, and the rhythm section is so tight it positively squeaks.

Opener 'The NS' is a strange beast, beginning with moody guitar murmurings, before the vocals enter like a droning orator. Things change very quickly though, and a middle eight later you're smack bang in the middle of a chorus straight out of Brian Wilson's secret drawer.

'So Beyond Me' is the sound of The Beatles doing Abba; the guitars on 'Friendship' grind their point home as if they're talking 'bout a revolution, while 'Long Time A Coming' strays into easy listening territory, albeit with a hook so catchy it's hard to be offended.

Meanwhile, 'Sensory Deprivation' is Led Zeppelin-lite, but it's an enjoyable piece of quasi-rock hokum nonetheless. 'Waiting For Slow Songs' grins at you from the disco era, while 'The Marquee And The Moon' unashamedly announces that Sloan have been watching too much Television.

There's nothing wildly innovative or experimental about Between The Bridges and it is kinda cheesy, but it's as fine an example of power pop as this listener has heard in a while. For those unafraid to pop/rock, we salute you.