''Smeared'' is the debut studio album by

Canadian rock Rock music of Canada is a wide and diverse part of the general music of Canada, beginning with American and British style rock and roll in the mid-20th century. Since then Canada has had a considerable impact on the development of the modern po ...

band Sloan. It was released in Canada on October 1, 1992, and in the United States in January, 1993, on

Geffen Records Geffen Records (formerly The David Geffen Company from 1980 to 1992 and Geffen Records Inc. from 1993 to 2004) is an American record label, founded in late 1980 by David Geffen. Originally a music subsidiary of the company known as Geffen Pi ...

. The album was recorded at a low cost of $1,200. The album is ranked 86th in the 2007 book ''

The Top 100 Canadian Albums ''The Top 100 Canadian Albums'' is a book by journalist Bob Mersereau, published in 2007 by Goose Lane Editions. Mersereau surveyed 600 music journalists, retailers, musicians and disc jockeys of all ages, from all parts of Canada, who each subm ...

'' by music journalist

Bob Mersereau Bob Ellis Mersereau is a Canadian arts journalist.Rockingham, Graham �"Randy Bachman: lord of the song"''The Spec'' He is a music columnist and longtime arts reporter for CBC Television in New Brunswick.alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...

scene. In an interview with GuitarWorld, in December 2022, Patrick Pentland stated that a ''Smeared'' 30th Anniversary reissue is in the works, slated for 2023. The deluxe edition reissue was eventually released in May 2024, which featured a 44-page book, concert poster, unreleased demos & outtakes from the ''Smeared'' sessions, as well as a previously unreleased live concert from June 1993 at McGill University, in Montreal.

Overview

Like their first release, the '' Peppermint EP'', ''Smeared'' received comparisons to

Sonic Youth Sonic Youth were an American rock band formed in New York City in 1981. Founding members Kim Gordon (bass, vocals, guitar), Thurston Moore (lead guitar, vocals) and Lee Ranaldo (rhythm guitar, vocals) remained together for the entire history of ...

and

Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

. Three songs from ''Peppermint'' re-appear on ''Smeared''; one of these ("Underwhelmed") was entirely re-recorded, while the other two ("Marcus Said" and "Sugartune") are the same recordings with new mixing. The band had originally intended to name the album ''Gluegun''. The track Median Strip, despite being principally written by Andrew Scott, was sung by Chris Murphy. An alternate version featuring Scott's vocals was included on the 2024 deluxe reissue.

Music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...

s were produced for the tracks " Underwhelmed", "500 Up", and "Sugar Tune". The music video for "Sugar Tune" was shot in the Spring of 1993, in Iowa, while the band were on their United States tour of ''Smeared'', and was shot by Super Friendz' Matt Murphy. This video went unreleased until December 2024. Two videos were shot for "Underwhelmed". The first version of the video, shot by Colin MacKenzie, was shot in Clayton Park, in Halifax, NS, in June of 1992, at Chris' parents house. This version of the video, was the winner of the Moonsnail Award, in the Music Video category, at the

Atlantic Film Festival The Atlantic International Film Festival is a major international film festival held annually in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada since 1980. AIFF is the largest Canadian film festival east of Montreal, regularly premiering the region's top films of ...

, in 1992. Both "Underwhelmed" and "500 Up" received moderate rotation on

MuchMusic Much is a Canadian English language discretionary specialty channel owned by BCE Inc. through its Bell Media subsidiary that airs programming aimed at teenagers and young adults. It is headquartered at 299 Queen Street West in what was o ...

in the early 1990s. Jennifer Pierce, of fellow Halifax band Jale, sang backing vocals on "I Am the Cancer".

Commercial performance

By September 1993, the album had sold more than 150,000 copies worldwide. The album was

certified Gold Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...

in Canada on July 12, 1995. By February 1997, the album had sold 60,000 units in Canada.

Track listing

All songs credited to Sloan. Japanese Bonus Tracks on 1998 CD Reissue

Credits

* Jay Ferguson – guitar, vocals *

Chris Murphy Christopher Scott Murphy (born August 3, 1973) is an American lawyer, author, and politician serving as the junior United States senator from the state of Connecticut since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served in the U ...

– bass, vocals, erased guitar *

Patrick Pentland John Patrick Thomas Pentland (born 20 September 1969) is an Irish-born rock guitarist and a member of the Canadian rock band Sloan. All four members of Sloan write, produce, and sing their own songs, but Pentland primarily plays lead guitar for m ...

– guitar, vocals, bass * Andrew Scott – drums, vocals, guitar *Jennifer Pierce – backing vocals ("I Am the Cancer" & "Marcus Said")

References

{{Authority control Sloan (band) albums 1992 debut albums Murderecords albums