The Peppermint EP

Sloan’s very first release from 1992 is often ignored. The band never plays the songs from it, many fans rarely acknowledge it, and it also seems to be out of print. I find it sad because I feel it was incredibly important to the band’s history. The cover even shows the origin of their name. (Their friend Jason Larsen was often called “slow one” by his boss. His French accent made it sound like “sloan”, and Larsen would let the band use the name if he was on the cover.)

Much like their first album Smeared, the Peppermint EP is done in the messy grunge style but still manages to be enjoyable. Three of the tracks that were on Smeared appear on the EP as well; “Sugartune”, “Marcus Said,” and “Underwhelmed”. I also want to mention that Andrew Scott is the only one who doesn’t sing on here.

“Marcus Said” is the first track. The only difference with the track on here is the quality seems a bit messy compared to the Smeared version. “Underwhelmed” is done with grinding guitars and has a longer ending. I prefer the Smeared version, but the Peppermint version is still worth listening to.

Jay Ferguson sings “Pretty Voice” which is a great track, especially with its catchy chorus; “You’ve got such a pretty voice, no one wants to hear.” Chris sings the next track “Lucky For Me” which is my favorite on the EP. The guitar work is well done and vocals are excellent.

“Sugartune” seems to be the same as the Smeared version.

Jennifer Pierce sings with Chris on the last track “Torn.” We once again have some good guitar work and vocals (mainly from Jennifer in my opinion).

This was an enjoyable debut for me and I really feel it deserves more recognition.