ALBUM REVIEW ~ THE SPILL CANVAS ~ 'CONDUIT'

Conduit, Pure Noise Records, I'm Music Magazine, The Spill Canvas, Nathan Hussey , Sherri Dupree-Bemis , Eisley)

Conduit, the first full length album in almost a decade from South Dakota rock band The Spill Canvas, was released March 5th with Pure Noise Records, signaling not only the band’s return with new music, but showcasing a more melodic side of The Spill Canvas, full of honest, poetic and sometimes tear-jerking lyrics. Frontman Nick Thomas doesn’t seem to be afraid of vulnerability when displaying his feelings toward challenging topics such as grief and loss, health disorders, marriage, and emotions of love, hurt, anxiety, and anger. He expresses all these with an admirable stone-cold truthfulness that many artists fail to achieve.

The Spill Canvas reached Billboard Charts in 2007 with their hit song “All Over You,” however the band’s been in the music scene long before that. Thomas was merely a teenager back in 2001 when he formed the group, and though the band has gone through varying lineups and musical styles over the years, Thomas has remained, showing much growth and maturity since the early teenage angst years of his youth.

Conduit proves that Thomas is in a different period of his life than he was in past albums. The band’s eighth album holds the same enjoyable rock-bordering-on-pop-punk elements fans love about the band, while embracing change in this modern era.

“Architecture,” the first track, comes in loud and strong about the struggles and desperation of a band pursuing their dreams in an industry where artists gets so easily lost in becoming a slave for money and materialism. The lyrics “Hollywood, make me a machine so my gears will only turn for the dollar,” are straightforward and to the point, while other meanings are hidden in metaphors (the chorus ringing out, “each and every one of us were architects, taught to design a death that we could live with.”)

“Firestorm,” and “Darkside,” are overflowing with that foot-tapping guitar-pounding high energy found in rock songs about temptation and passion, songs that make you want to lose control, which may feel nostalgic of the band’s earlier bops (The Spill Canvas also released music videos for these two tracks), leading to the powerful vows of “Calendars.”

An ode to Thomas’ mother who had passed away, “Blueprint” brings out a darker, more profound truth about the depths of moving on from someone, and the loneliness followed by the bad habits which may accompany these rough times.

The Spill Canvas are no strangers to collaborating with other artists on their tracks, and Conduit is no exception, with guests like Nathan Hussey featured on “Cost,” and Sherri Dupree-Bemis (of the band Eisley). The song “Molecules,” which features Sherri’s vocals, is a softer, sentimental love piece written for Thomas’ wife, a step away from the band’s usual loud anthems. Never fear, because they come back banging with the full band sound in the album’s title track “Conduit,” bringing this compelling album to an end.

It may have taken a decade for The Spill Canvas to release a new album, but the band has stayed busy playing anniversary shows and tours in the meantime. Now with Conduit, they have brought something to the table that old fans can cling to, along with welcoming a newer generation of fans who may be discovering the band for the first time through this album. If one thing is certain, it’s that The Spill Canvas has stood the test of time, proving their ability to maintain relevancy.

I’m Music Magazine Contributing Writer Alice Kearney