Sloane Peterson

Why Go Out? (2011)

Rich Cocksedge

As many people will remember, Sloane Peterson was the girlfriend of the protagonist in one of the finest teen movies of the 1980s, Ferris Bueller's Day Off. Unfortunately, as fewer people are likely to know, Sloane Peterson was (this is their final release) a five-piece from Miami, Fla., responsible for cranking out poppy-punk gems laced with harmonized vocals, an accomplished and interesting twin guitar attack blessed with an overriding ear (or two) for catchiness.

So Why Go Out? effectively brings the curtain down on this band, and does so with an air of celebration rather than a sense of loss. On initially playing this album I found myself with comparisons to Dillinger Four coming to mind both in terms of the sound of the guitar as well as Steve's excellent vocals, which occasionally sound like Eric Funk from that band. Another band that came to mind was Weezer, as Sloane Peterson managed to carry the same sort of peppiness that Rivers Cuomo's group does/did. Repeated plays, however, give the band and the album a life of their/its own, with catchy songs just following each other from start to finish. Despite this signalling the end of the band, nothing on the album comes across as the stale offerings of a band fed up with what they are doing – it's almost as if the pinnacle has been reached and they just seem content to draw a line under the band as it has attained such heights.

One thing this isn't, is total breakneck pop-punk, although it's not all one pace either, as Sloane Peterson managed to mix the tempos of the songs on this record and additionally succeed in sequencing the tracks in a way that works extremely well for the album and as such the listener. The high points for me are "Tallahassee," a splendid song that seems to have two distinct halves to it as well as probably being the quickest track on the album, and "You And Me," which features a very slow introduction that gently lures you in before taking on a slightly more upbeat tempo for the bulk of the song. Lyrically, it's no surprise that relationships feature here, but the songs are well written and fail to go down any obvious route in that respect, with other topics being used as well.

Although the record is down as being a Dead Broke Rekerds release, there are actually five labels involved in releasing this, and in addition to DBR this album is also brought to the world by Art of the Underground/Hip Kid Records/Hang Up Records/Steve's Pizza and Records.

I do have to say that the more I play this, the more I love it.