Rob's Album Of The Week: For The Love Of Sloane's Curses, Spells & Charms

by Rob Duguay (Under The Radar)

Finally, the wait is over.  After 5 plus years of hard work and rocking crowds all over New England, Providence Alternative Rock band For The Love Of Sloane has their debut album Curses, Spells & Charms currently out. The album shows that not much has changed in the band's catchy sound since their inception back in 2007. Jay Jefferson has that seismic ability on the drums to pound your eardrums along with Michelle Salgueiro on bass forming a rad rhythm section, Stephen Moniz is still one of the most underrated guitarists in The Creative Capital and Elese Morrone is a force with her emotional lyrics and powerful voice.  All of these amazing skills come together in a jewel of an album and a piece of music I've been wanting to hear from For The Love Of Sloane for a long time. 

Rhythm and groove are two words that I can absolutely identify the band's sound with. Each song off of the new record has a perfect combination of the fury coming from Jefferson playing drums and the sweet licks coming from Moniz's guitar to create a truly unique sound that also has an old-school 90's style to it. It's a bunch of classic songs that have been part of For The Love Of Sloane's repertoire ever since they started playing mixed with a few new tracks to show how much this quartet has grown over time. If you're looking for that record to fuel that dormant angst you have inside, press play on Curses, Spells & Charms and hear what Morrone has to say. If you can't relate to any of the tracks on the new album then you're not a human being.

It's been a special time to be involved in the music scene here in Providence. A lot of bands coming out of the woodwork on a near-daily basis gathering fan bases instantly due to playing and having little followings that grow through word of mouth. With that being said, it's always nice to see established acts like For The Love Of Sloane still kicking ass though. Speaking of kicking ass, it's that part of this piece of music journalism where I talk about my favorite tracks off of my Album Of The Week.  As you know, it's never easy to decide which song gets the spotlight but here goes something:

"So What If.." is one of those classic tracks that I absolutely love, Moniz has that driving riff that gives the song a lot of grit and Morrone's voice gives it that fierceness to make your head bang. "Flora" has everything you need for a heartbroken girl's anthem along with having a little bit of pop that gives it some pep and jump to make it a track you can dance to. "Bookmarked" reminds me a bit of Nirvana with the dirty, distorted guitar coming from Moniz but it's also another heartbreak anthem, one without any pop. The drumming on "Dig Deeper" is spot on in another classic track that has been a staple of For The Love Of Sloane for years. I know I only named a few tracks off of Curses, Spells & Charms but there are a few other tracks that I didn't mention that you should check out as well.

For The Love Of Sloane don't have any shows planned in the immediate future but be sure that they'll be playing the Providence area very soon to promote the new album. When they come through your neighborhood, make sure you check them out because it'll be a refreshing and fantastic experience. While we wait until For The Love Of Sloane to play their next show, grab a copy of their new album Curses, Spells & Charms. It's an album from a group of talented individuals that absolutely deserve your attention.