Parallel Play (2008)

For 16 years, Toronto's Sloan have carried a torch for power pop. That aesthetic remains intact on their ninth album Parallel Play, but it also proves the foursome — who alternate songwriting and vocal duties — have honed their skills to a finely calibrated science. Here, drummer Andrew Scott gravitates to folk (''Down in the Basement'') and guitarist Patrick Pentland channels metal (''The Other Side''), while bassist Chris Murphy sticks to rock (''I'm Not a Kid Anymore''). But co-axman Jay Ferguson trumps them all with ''Witch's Ward,'' a midtempo tune that sounds like a lost '70s AM-radio gem. B+
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