As one-quarter of Canadian rock juggernaut Sloan for 30 years now, many fans will immediately recognize Patrick Pentland, one of most prolific voices in Canadian rock and roll, on his new solo project, Fuzzed Out. Pentland has just released two new tracks, “My Own Worst Enemy,” and “Sitting With My Back to the Wall,” both of which feature Pentland performing all of the instruments, save drums which are played by Dean Bentley.
While the two songs were written pre-pandemic, they are oddly fitting for the current times. On Sitting with my Back to the Wall Pentland sings, “Creeping in the shadows so no one can know you’re around… No one wants you coming, They all want you to go. No one feels the same as you and loneliness just grows.” Both songs seem to sum up the plight of having anxiety and coming to terms with the pressure it creates.
Pentland slows the tempo down on the second track, but still sports the heavier rock sound that he’s known for bringing to the Sloan table. “I’m ruled by stress and there’s no rest in sight. And it’s clear for all to see I’m my own worst enemy. It’s clear for all to see I keep choosing losing.”
The songs were actually recorded a couple of years ago, but with Sloan’s rigorous touring, Pentland hadn’t gotten around to mixing and releasing them yet. With the pandemic grinding Sloan to a near halt for the time being, he was able to tie up the loose ends required to make these songs available.
With 30 years of songwriting under his belt, he has ended up with a catalogue of songs that weren’t always possible to release with Sloan.
“Even when we make a record, the most I would get on a record is 5 songs, but usually it is three since we tend to split it up. I write more than three songs every couple of years so it just seemed like this was another outlet,” Pentland commented.
In addition, not all of his songs stylistically fit within the Sloan umbrella. Pentland’s voice and penchant for catchy riffs are sure to be familiar, but there is definitely a distinction from the typical Sloan hallmarks.
“I had felt in the past that I wanted to play a certain style, more loud,” says Pentland, “but not everyone in the band wanted to do that so I would complain. Instead of complaining this time I just got together a new band to do that.”
Despite the difference in style, his subject matter and process have not really varied from his work with Sloan: it was recorded and produced by the same people, and even put out by Sloan’s label, Murderecords. It was, however, a significantly more streamlined process, since Sloan’s projects tend to require a lot of time.
With the main purpose of the new band being to create an outlet for his other work, there won’t be a physical release or music videos. It’s unsure whether or not some shows or a full tour would ever take place, since Sloan is more than able to keep him fully occupied in that department.
One thing is definite, he has many more songs lined up to be released as soon as recording becomes a bit more accessible again.