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Sloan is a four piece rock band from Halifax, Nova Scotia. The band was formed in 1991 when Chris Murphy and Andrew Scott met at the Nova Scotia School of Art and Design in Halifax; Patrick Pentland and Jay Ferguson joined soon after. In 1992 they created their own label, Murderecords, for themselves and other Halifax area bands, and released the Peppermint EP. Later in 1992 they released their full-length album Smeared on Geffen Records.
In 1994 Geffen did not promote Sloan's second album, Twice Removed, although it sold well in Canada, and was named the best Canadian album ever recorded in a 1996 reader poll by the Canadian music magazine Chart.
The band went on hiatus and was rumoured to have broken up, but in 1996 they released the widely praised One Chord to Another on Murderecords. They continue to produce albums, including 1999's live album 4 Nights at the Palais Royale. In 2003, they released their ninth album, Action Pact. They now have a US record deal with BMG.
Chris Murphy plays bass, sometimes guitar, and sometimes drums; Patrick Pentland plays guitar; Andrew Scott plays drums and sometimes guitar; and Jay Ferguson plays guitar and sometimes bass. Everyone sings. Although Murphy originally wrote the bulk of the songs, on their recent albums each member contributes equally -- although there are no Andrew Scott songs on Action Pact, because he is very busy as a new father.