Sloan

The last band standing from the early ’90s Halifax-Moncton scene, Sloan has always been into punk, more prominent in the Pentland/Murphy catalogues than Ferguson/Scott. Written in ’88, “Jenny,” about Murphy’s ex/jale’s Jennifer Pierce, nails power hardcore. “It’s in You, It’s in Me” veers a bit back into Sloan-pop (see rock solo, The Offspring, harmonic outro) but 12 digital covers of ’80s punk like Minor Threat, Black Flag and Circle Jerks are all killer bonuses. Recordings are unpolished compared to usual clean cuts and Sloan throws down technical precision and a surprising amount of attitude. New direction or nostalgia? Not sure. But so rad.