For me, a band like Wintersleep is kind of hit or miss. Unfortunately, I find I have to strike down their newest album, New Inheritors, on the miss side.

When I reviewed Wintersleep’s 2007 record, Welcome to the Night Sky, I had both a lot of high praise for it, and some concerns. I remember writing about the album’s first half, the opening five songs, or so. I remember not being able to get passed them—they were so good. But that was also a fault I found in the album: the top-half was incredible, the songs were well-crafted, well-written and extremely interesting to listen to. Songs like Weighty Ghost, which I count among my favourite songs of all time. But the latter part of the record was a bit dry and a lot less interesting in comparison to the first bit.

What it seemed like to me was that we’d hit upon a band that could write some really great material, but not all the time. A band that had all the elements in place to make great music, but sometimes weren’t putting in all the effort, or mustering up all the creativity or whatever to really make it happen.

I’m not entirely convinced that New Inheritors is the result of the kind of mustering and effort that I’m talking about. I’m just not sure.

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My goal with The 90′s series has been to prove that the decade of my musical youth featured more than a couple of gems. This week’s band, Sloan, are one of those very precious gems.

Sloan were one of those rare 90′s bands that, looking back, were well ahead of their time. Ahead of that more stripped-down rock and roll sound that lots of bands today are trying to achieve. Well ahead of the whole indie rock movement. Even their music video, which has a decidedly Fargo feel to it, seems ahead of the curve when you compare it to the other stuff that was being committed to film in the 90′s. But, I’ll let you decide for yourself.

The Good in Everyone (1996)

Two things that I love, music and ghosts, a match made in heaven.

Weighty Ghost

Weighty Ghost by Halifax’s Wintersleep is quite possibly the best song ever. I mean, really, listen to it. First of all, it’s got a really great beat to it, driven almost entirely by a kind of handclapped rhythm, an acoustic guitar, and the powerful yet fragile voice of frontman Paul Murphy. It’s a truly beautiful piece of music. And second, it’s got a great story to it. In my opinion it’s our story, the modern plight of a kind of world without direction, a body without a soul—a soul without a body. To put down a particularly good pun for y’all: it’s haunting.