Artist: The Spill Canvas
Album: One Fell Swoop (2005)
Today I decided to write a quick review on one of my favorite albums. Now, I know that the album is a bit dated but it’s never to late to appreciate great work. Hopefully this review will get this great band in your ears very soon.
One Fell Swoop is the third studio album from The Spill Canvas, hailing from Sioux Falls, SD. In my personal opinion this album is hands down their best to date and one of the best albums I have ever listened to. I’ve read some reviews that say it’s more of a “mainstream” album, which I think is a poor judgment of this masterpiece. The album is definitely listener friendly but I wouldn’t call it mainstream, that just seems to sell out-ish to me. Although there is no consistent storyline throughout the album, it sure feels that there is one. The one obvious common theme among all of the songs is raw emotion.
Front man Nick Thomas makes you feel every emotion he feels, to the point that you can relate to the words. A majority of the songs deal with building, maintaining, salvaging and letting go of relationships. The songs are all composed as if they are being sung directly to a significant other. Thomas takes on the role of a man who completely opens up and shows nothing but pure emotion and devotion to his partner. You get a sense of there being no one else left in the world other than the couple in the songs. The album also takes you through a roller-coaster of those emotions by mixing upbeat tracks in with the more slow paced tracks which keeps the album very interesting and wanting you to see where it goes next.
The break away song on this album is without a doubt the last track titled, “Self Conclusion”. In this song a man encounters a woman on what seems to be the top of a cliff. As the song progresses you find that the woman is going there with the intent of committing suicide. The man begins to talk her out of it and tries to convince her to leave with him. As he is talking the woman starts to question him on what makes him so sure that it isn’t worth it. The man then reveals to the woman that he is there for the exact reason that she is but has realized that life has way more to offer then to give it all up in a time of distress. Eventually the woman takes him up on his offer and agrees to give him a day to show her that life is worth living. This song is a great message to those who experience those devastating lows, that there are always brighter days ahead and someone worth living for.
Overall I recommend taking 55 minutes out of your day and giving this album a listen in full or even catching a track or two when you can, it will certainly be worth your time if you are a fan of heartfelt music. Try not to fall into the whole sappy “emo” stereotype that follows this lyrical content and appreciate it as raw human emotion.
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