Whitney Matheson

USA TODAY

Sloan is one of those rare bands that, if you were to remove one member, the group would probably have to change its name.

The Toronto-based power-pop outfit is very democratic, in that each of its four members — Jay Ferguson, Chris Murphy, Patrick Pentland and Andrew Scott — composes music and lyrics. Sloan is also unique in that the guys have been thriving since the early '90s, with 10 albums under their belt.

Next month Sloan releases another record, Commonwealth, and the concept highlights each musician's songwriting skills. Meant to be enjoyed as a double-vinyl release (but also available digitally), each of its four sides features tunes by one member of the band.

Today I'm happy to debut a track that should help you get moving on this Monday. Here's what Pentland has to say about 13 (Under A Bad Sign):

The song was originally written on my laptop as a synth and drum machine thing, but after I messed around with distortion plug-ins, it sounded so much like guitar that I decided to make it a Sloan song, and built it up with real guitars, bass and, eventually, real drums. Lyrically, it's just a rebel song, like the female version of AC/DC's Bad Boy Boogie. Kind of clichéd, but that's rock 'n' roll for you.

Enjoy:

Sloan's Commonwealth goes on sale Sept. 9 via Yep Roc Records. Learn more at sloanmusic.com.