The Spill Canvas – One Fell Swoop

After the success of the largely acoustic Sunsets And Car Crashes last year, The Spill Canvas became a band that most people knew about. Nick Thomas came up right in the perfect rising of the emo phase and instantly garner some rabid fans. With the release of One Fell Swoop, The Spill Canvas upgraded to a full band and people became interested in Thomas and the gang again. But while you take a look around the internet and read people’s reaction on the album, there’ are two major differences. While some people deem it to be the number one album of the year, others compare it to grass growing. Personally, I believer it’s not quite as boring as grass growing, but it is far from being the number one album.

For the past few weeks, I’ve been listening to One Fell Swoop on and off. Sometimes at home, other times at work, always doing different things and always under different circumstances. But dispite all the varied settings, my opinion on the album seems to stay the same always. During each and every listen, there are three things that stand out: the chorus of Dutch Courage, the chorus of Teleport: A&B and the chorus of This Is For Keeps (with lyrics that I love: Not even hell could be hotter than you right now). Other than those three choruses though, there’s really nothing. The thirteen tracks just come and go, leaving no impression on the listener, just basic background music you might hear as you’re waiting in the doctor’s office.

You find yourself wondering what all the fuss was about with Sunsets And Car Crashes. Was that this medicore as well? Or did Thomas and his gang just fall victim to the ever vilgilant sophomore slump? It’s hard to tell, but probably the latter because while their debut had a few memorable tracks, their sophomore will easy fall to the back of everyone’s collection to sit and collect dust.

It’s obvious that Thomas is a deecent musician, but sadly One Fell Swoop isn’t all that it should be. The album just passes by without leaving an imprint. It’s easily accesible, but just as easily forgettable.