I don't quite know how to start this review. I am posting a new review because frankly the old one wasn't that great. I felt like an 8 year old had written and didn't do the album much justice. So here it goes:
One Fell Swoop is an album for the mainstream listener. It was intended for the person who likes songs for catchy beats and familiar melodies. While Nick Thomas keeps his vocal styling’s the same his guitar work similar to that of “All Hail the Heart Breaker” you will notice some differences from this album and Sunsets and Car Crashes.
First off, you will notice that most of this album is a full band arrangement. For this reason the album has a more alternative rock type feel as opposed to the acoustic rock feel of Sunsets and Car Crashes. It is no wonder though seeing as how Sunsets was written and produced by just Nick, while One Fell Swoop was written by four musicians: Nick Thomas, Joe Beck, Scott McGuire, and Dan Ludeman. Along with being written by four musicians it was also produced by a fifth party. At the start of writing this album the band had already decided to sign Ed Rose of Black Lodge Recording onto producing it. After listening to some of the demos and listening to the completed album I feel that Mr. Rose did an excellent job.
I think that there are a lot of great songs on this album so I will do a short song breakdown.
Lust a Prima Vista: This song starts out with a driving drum beat with the kick alternating with the hats. In the background you can hear one guitar playing a steady picking pattern while the other has an effect on some distorted feedback. This finally builds up to which I feel is one of the best parts of the album. Driving drums with the combination of melodies on the guitar is some of the best musicianship on this album, more for listening pleasure than for technical skill. The vocals tie everything together and make this song one of my favorites.
Staplegunned: I quite enjoy the story behind the lyrics and particularly way Nick put together the lyrics for this song, but there is something about it I don’t like. It gives off that kind of Matchbox Twenty feel, which doesn’t suite The Spill Canvas well. This may be pure imagination on my part, but I feel that there is something they could’ve changed to make this song more original.
Polygraph, Right Now: When I first bought this album, this song was my favorite by far. Only for one line did I listen to this song over and over, “According to you we don’t click, that’s a blatant lie and you know it.” Other than that one shining moment this song is fairly predictable and steady.
The Dutch Courage: This song is truly a classic. While deviating from the distorted guitars and constant drums, they still maintain the tone the first three songs set. Excellent combination of guitar and vocals like always, but they pull it together at the interlude and make this song something worth listening to.
Natalie Marie and 1cc: Amazing story behind this song, while not necessarily factual it still makes for great imagery. I’ve heard people say that the song is to “generic” but that’s partly why I like it. If you had completely original music then it would make the story sink into the background instead of standing in the foreground.
Teleport A&H: While the drums have a nice beat going and the guitars are playing some nice melodies, this song doesn’t stand out much to me. I really liked the demo version of it at the bridge, but I think that next to the rest of the album it just doesn’t cut it for me. Put together well, just not a track I’ll listen to all the time.
This is for Keeps, Himerus and Eros, Secret Oath, and Bound to Happen: I combined these four in the interest of space. Most of these songs are skip tracks for me with the exception of Bound to Happen. While there are some good parts in all of the songs there just isn’t enough to keep me listening.
Break a Leg: This song has the Santana feel to it, but The Spill Canvas pulls it off quite nicely. I love the lyrics and the way the guitar fills up the space where there are no vocals. Definitely an honorable mention.
Valiant: This is my favorite song on this album as of now. While the song starts off as nothing special you will not be disappointed if you keep listening. The intro brings back memories of Sunsets and the verse has a kind of country feel to it, and while the chorus picks it up and makes this a good song there is the interlude and outro that make this song great. At the end when he’s singing, “Please keep holding onto me”, you can almost cut the emotion with a dull knife.
Self Conclusion: This song was written with the intention to bring a little Sunsets and Car Crashes into the album and truly I think they failed. Don’t misunderstand me though, I love this song, but they didn’t really bring Sunsets into the album. This song still keeps the tone going that was there from the beginning of the album and it makes for a great song.
Now some of you are probably asking why I never mentioned the bass in the songs. I don’t hate bass players; I just never heard anything that made the bass stand out from anything else. The bassist did do a great job of complimenting the guitar and vocals though, I will give him that.
So overall the album is excellent, I would give it a 5 had it not been following up Sunsets and Car Crashes which is a masterpiece. I would recommend this album to any listener, mainstream or not. But for now I must depart, and leave you to comment on this review.
-“In one fell swoop it became clear to me, that I despise you entirely.”
