The Spill Canvas

Conduit

Written by: PP on 14/04/2021 21:53:25

For those not in the know, The Spill Canvas was a solid mid-range emo band with roots in indie- and alternative rock during the first decade of the 2000s, largely carried by their brilliant vocalist Nick Thomas, whose aggressive lean on the vocals is comparable to the styles by Bayside's Anthony Raneri and Coheed And Cambria's Claudio Sanchez to name but a few. They've been largely quiet since 2012 though; "Conduit" is their first album in nine years and sixth overall if you don't count the b-sides and EP records.

Longtime fans will be delighted to find that the band remains in the realm of emotive, angular indie rock with a strong emotional charge attached, reliant on Thomas's brilliant delivery that oozes passion and flair. The instrumentals draw from alternative rock and even nuances of punk much like Bayside does, but it'd feel wrong to pigeonhole the band in either of the two genres given how much indie rock and plain emo is in the mix as well. The opening trio of "Architecture", "Firestorm" and "Darkside" gives a perfect introduction if this is your first time listening to The Spill Canvas, in that they cover both the quirky lyrics but particularly the convincing, passionate vocal performance by Thomas that captivates on first listen.

Elsewhere, the band experiment with straight-up 3 Doors Down style alternative rock to lighter, textbook indie rock like that on "Calendars", featuring relaxed instrumentals and an echoing, expansive soundscape. But where The Spill Canvas are undoubtedly at their best is on tracks like "Akathisia", where the guitars sound curvy and adventurous, whilst Thomas' voice is just about to break into a roughened one, keeping us at the edge just for excitement purposes. The majority of tracks on "Conduit" fall in this category with a good deal of other styles mixed in as well, which just about covers the different realms of their career nicely on a single album. It's a solid return after a long break, and should be on the must check-out list for any fans of bands like Say Anything, Mae, The Early November, or indeed Bayside.

Download: Darkside, Architecture, Firestorm, Blueprints
For the fans of: Bayside, The Early November, Say Anything, Mae, Coheed And Cambria
Listen: Facebook

Release date 05.03.2021
Pure Noise Records

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