Album Review: The Spill Canvas- Gestalt

I love Kickstarter. First, The Forecast funded their record, Everybody Left, on the crowd-funding website. The Forecast were one of my favorite bands in high school, and their Kickstarter-funded project is currently on the top of my Album of the Year list (seriously, check it out, it rules.) Now, with The Spill Canvas’ new album, Gestalt, lighting has struck twice. Another one of my favorite bands in high school has released their best album in five years, and it’s all thanks to Kickstarter. Well, that and Nick Thomas’ heavenly voice. 

Fans of the band may recall that the band announced just last August that the Sioux Fall, ND-based announced they would be going on a hiatus in January of 2011, but just 9 months after the hiatus began, The Spill Canvas opened up the kickstarter for donations towards the band’s sixth studio album, Gestalt.

The word “Gestalt” is a phycology term which means “essence or shape of an entity’s complete form” and how fitting an album title it is. The album combines the best sounds of all the bands other albums, along with a few little tricks they’ve picked up along the way, and combines them into one near-perfect concoction. “Whiskey Dream Kathleen” sounds like the band went back in time to the Sunsets and Car Crashes-era of the band, and it is nearly as good as that record (which is one of my 5 favorites of all time). From: San Francisco has a similar feel to the One Fell Swoop era, with its sweeping bass lines and upbeat drumming. One track, “Mariana,” even sounds as if they asked Stevie Wonder to record the background music. The slap bass and Nick Martin matching the guitar shrieks with his vocals makes for probably the standout on the whole album.

None of the tracks stand out as particular negatives, though “Firm Believer” with its cliché lyrics and mid-tempo simplicity is probably the most forgettable. But considering this band was on a hiatus just 7 months ago, the fact that none of the tracks are unlistenable is quite an accomplishment. There’s no “The Tide”(which is by far the band’s best song) on this album, but From: San Francisco could become a fan favorite, and I could see it being a riot at live shows.

Martin’s lyrics are as scathing as ever. In “Parallels and Money,” a song that is deceptively light in comparison to its gloomy themes, he sings “I really hope he drops you in a week, sounds about the right amount of time it takes until he’s bored with your community physique.” “I was less important then, you were the antidote for me, it’s funny how you’re choking now, that what you get for double-crossing me,” he writes on “The Meds”. Martin is still very capable of writing a massive breakup song, after all this is the man who wrote “All Over You”. He’s still one of the most capable songwriters in the scene and the band is still rocking after all these years. All thanks to Kickstarter.

Bottom Line: If you are a fan of the band’s previous albums, especially One Fell Swoop and No, Really, I’m Fine, you’ll enjoy this album. Even if you’re not, give the album a fair listen and respect a band that is still trucking through all the label difficulties they’ve gone through.

Recommended if you Rock:  Campfire songs, The Starting Line Make Yourself At Home EP, this song