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Let's salute the creators of The Strangers for their great public service: This film could single-handedly put an end to the practice of thrill killing. That's because it makes the act of murder look more boring and tedious than macramé. The Strangers could even be used in prisons as a method of rehabilitation. No one is going to want to kill anybody ever again after sitting through this potpourri of pedestrian gotcha! moments and Liv Tyler histrionics. The gimmick is that, unbeknownst to the potential victims, we see axe-wielding maniacs hanging around the house. They strike a menacing pose, then amble away. It's silly; the killers are only there to frighten the audience. It's mostly like the actors stumbled onto the set at the wrong time, looking foolish. The makers of The Strangers have forgotten that what you can't see is always scarier than what you can. This film is much more frightening if you don't watch it.

THE STRANGERS

RATED | R

NOW SHOWING | AMC LOEWS BOSTON COMMON, REGAL FENWAY STADIUM, CIRCLE CINEMAS, FRESH POND, SHOWCASE CINEMAS REVERE,

The traditional rock band, songwriting equilibrium usually breaks down into one of two situations. It's either a cult of personality, with one domineering figure holding the reins, or an uneasy alliance between guitarist and front man, each eyeing the other warily across the stage in a case of bitter one-upmanship. But it's the rare communal band that's blessed with four equal songwriters, like in the case of Canadian power pop heroes Sloan. It's probably just that balance that's led to such a long and fruitful career.

"I don't think any of us feel held back," explains guitarist and vocalist Patrick Pentland. "The rule is, essentially, you can do whatever you want. You just expect that everybody's putting their best foot forward. There isn't like a frustrated drummer or bass player; everyone gets to contribute what they want to contribute."

On Sloan's latest, Parallel Play, what Pentland contributes are songs like album opener "Believe In Me," a burning organ groove buoyed by the band's trademark gorgeous harmonies and a ripping guitar riff. "It's becoming more a four-solo-records-on-one-record thing right now," he says. "Everybody's comfortable with that."

Of course, that sort of thing only works out when everyone's carrying their weight. No such problem here. Jay Ferguson's "Cheap Champagne" is a mellow, psyched-out soft rocker and Chris Murphy chips in with "Living the Dream," a Rubber Soul-style acoustic stomp, while Andrew Scott's "Emergency 911" is a throttling, dirtied-up garage anthem.

It's a broader spectrum than casual fans of the band, often saddled with a Beatles-esque qualifier, might have expected. "I think people are just wearing their influences more on their sleeves," says Pentland. "There's a reggae song and, like, a Bob Dylan song, and I've got a Jesus and Mary Chain type-thing and a psychedelically organ type-thing. For me personally, I wasn't interested in really writing rock songs for this record. I wanted to do something that kind of covered what I listen to now as opposed to when I was 16. Sometimes songwriters say, 'I really like that song by Brian Jonestown Massacre and I'm gonna rip it off, but I'm gonna do it with a little bit of The Stones, or whatever, or The Beatles or a little bit of Love and Rockets or The Cure ... I can work from that perspective.'" It's a refreshingly candid admission that may just make Pentland the most honest musician one has ever interviewed.

Genre-tripping aside, Parallel Play still sounds unmistakably like Sloan. Which is what, exactly? "I used to say it was the way we sing, the harmonies," says Pentland. "That was the Sloan sound." There's a bit less of that come-together spirit here, however: "This one was a weird one to make because we tried to make it quickly. Two of us have new kids, so we didn't have a lot of time. People would come in with finished ideas and music and basically just whip it off as quickly as possible. There wasn't a lot of cross-pollination among members. I didn't really know what the other guys were doing. I would just kind of do my stuff and go home."

Moral of the story for infighting bands out there? Leave each other the fuck alone.

SLOAN

W/ THE GOLDEN DOGS AND

CORIN ASHLEY

WEDNESDAY 6.18.08

T.T. THE BEAR'S PLACE

10 BROOKLINE ST., CENTRAL SQ.

CAMBRIDGE

9PM/21+/$15

617.492.2327

TTTHEBEARS.COM

MYSPACE.COM/SLOAN

Sweden's Love Is All make their Boston debut this Sunday at Great Scott. Remember them? The internet told you to like them a couple of years ago and, for once, the hype machine actually got something right. Their debut album was a catchy, fuzzy indie-pop dance-off with spastic sax and exuberant shouting from front lady Josephine Olausson. It sounded like a more tuneful Essential Logic, or Life Without Buildings covering the Slits. It helped make the impossibly futuristic year of 2006 worth living.

This year, they follow up with a couple of new releases. First is a limited edition tour EP where they cover the Dire Straits, Lungleg and others. "We've made 120 or so copies," says Olausson. You could download them from certain respectable businesses, but then you'd miss out on Olausson's cover art, "with guitarist Nicke Sparding's head on Prince's body and bassist Johan Lindwall with Mark Knopfler's guitar and headband." Later this year, Love Is All will release their second full-length album, A Hundred Things Keep Me Up At Night. Compared to the first record, Olausson notes, "the songs [are] a little faster and have more handclaps. Besides that, everything is pretty much the same."

Love Is All don't come to the States often. As Olausson says, "We don't really want to be touring nonstop for six months like some bands do. We really like being home."

LOVE IS ALL

W/ MEAN CREEK AND BIG DIGITS

SUNDAY 6.15.08

GREAT SCOTT

1222 COMM. AVE.

ALLSTON

617.566.9014

9PM/18+/$10

GREATSCOTTBOSTON.COM

MYSPACE.COM/LOVEISALL8