Music
Press
Musicianship – 9.5 out of 10
The Spill’s Canvas is an album full of high-energy Rock/Pop music! Each member of this group is an incredibly talented musician, including guitarists Lawrence Adams and Patrick Disney, who give life to every type of song the band does, from slow ballads to soaring choruses… even hymns! Not to be outdone, rhythm section members Todd Hale (bass) and Ryan Gross (drums/programming) provide a rock-solid foundation for the group’s inspirational songs! Additional keyboard parts added by Patrick Disney help to fill the overall sound out, as do “choir” parts in the background vocals, provided by several folks credited on the back of the CD cover as the Morningstar Christian Fellowship Choir! The band’s attention to detail, and their commitment to creating the very best music that they can for their fans, and for their Creator are forces that drive them as musicians to attain excellence!
In case you think that I’ve forgotten about vocals, think again! I left the comments on vocals to the last, because I wanted to be sure and highlight the tremendous job that Lawrence Adams does on Canvas! He has a very distinctive, powerful Pop voice, similar to that of Bono or Sting. In fact, he works a vocal line from U2’s “With or Without You” into the bridge of the song “Blessed Be The Name”! He sounds incredible, and is himself a big part of The Spill’s signature Pop sound! Combined, the music and vocals make The Spill an excellent band!
Songwriting – 9 out of 10
Only 3 of the songs on The Spill’s CD are written totally by the band. Others are taken from worship albums and hymnals. However, there is something to be said for the way that The Spill has arranged the music/vocals for these songs. As I mentioned above, they have a way of taking songs that are ordinarily pretty “churchy”, for lack of a better term, and making them into radio-friendly ditties that you might hear almost any time on a Top 40 station! They do a great job arranging other songs, and their original tunes are first rate! This CD is a great collection of songs!
Sound Quality/Professionalism – 10 out of 10
From the first note to the last, this is a very professionally made album! Each song sounds incredible, with a full spectrum of sound that has been mixed and mastered flawlessly! I am very pleased with the sound quality achieved on Canvas, and I think you will be too!
Packaging – 8.5 out of 10
‘Simple’ is the easiest way to describe the packaging for The Spill’s newest CD! It consists solely of a sleeve to store the CD in, with song names and music credits on the back, and a blank “canvas” on the front with the band’s logo! I’m all for simplicity, but I’m also an information junkie! Lyrics would have been cool, as well as a band photo or something like that. Oh, well, I can’t complain! The packaging works well conceptually, and doesn’t detract from the music, so I’ll take it!
Overall Rating – 9.5 out of 10
Great music comes in every style, genre and location these days. For years, great Christian music has been available to people in almost any flavor that you can think of, and I’m very glad for that! People whose convictions lead them to seek out music with wholesome lyrics/themes don’t have to feel pigeonholed, or limited in any way! The Spill is a great example of this! Their stuff is as radio-friendly as you can get, with themes that are acceptable, and in many ways, preferred to the songs available on radio today!
Don’t let that distinction keep you from hearing their album, though! No matter how you believe, you’ll want to hear their music! Their collection of great Power Pop tunes will leave you wanting more!
Get your copy of the Canvas today, and don’t waste another minute! Even now, they are offering the CD online at CD Baby, with all proceeds going to the Red Cross. I’m not sure how long that promotion will last, so hurry and get your copy! You’ll be happy that you did!
—Mark Lush, Midwestbands.com, 10/06/05
- Midwestbands.com
The band's music is well constructed, matching the apparent passion of the lyrics with some progressive yet still accessible song structures, slick production, soaring vocals and solid performances from each of the band members. There's ambient texturing mixed in with pointier Rock riffage, which makes for an interesting counter-balance. It's refreshing to hear a band sing so nakedly from the heart. (thespillband.com)
- City Beat
by:Richard O. Jones
The Spill tries not to get in a hurry.
The band formed last year when Lawrence Adams and Patrick Disney put their heads together to decide what they wanted to do with their music.
"It took months to really figure out what we were wanting to say with this band," Disney said. "When you feel this passionately about something, you really want to take the time to do it right. And with The Spill, we've taken our time to assemble the right guys and the right creative balance between us."
The right guys turned out to be rhythm section of Todd Hale on bass and Ryan Gross on drums.
Shortly after forming, the group decided to immediately start work on a full-length album and forego booking too many concerts until the CD was ready for release.
"The studio teaches you a lot about yourself and about your band," Adams said. "The studio did wonders for tightening up our sound. And we've learned that we work better when we set ourselves deadlines. We work better under that pressure."
Mixing modern rock with soaring vocal melodies, the music is both driving and uplifting.
The casual listener will get the feeling that he or she is listening to a great band with catchy melodies. The focused listener will hear the heartfelt experiences of life that have culminated in The Spill's debut album, "Canvas".
"We've tried to stay true to ourselves on this record," Gross said. "It's probably not what some people expect from us on our first release, but you have to do what you feel you're called to do."
how to go:
The Name: The Music Cafe
The Location: Fitton Center for Creative Arts, 101 S. Monument Ave, Hamilton
The Hours: 7pm Tuesday
The Tab: FREE
The Phone: 513.863.8873
www.fittoncenter.org - Hamilton Journal-News
Discography
Canvas (release date July 2005)
Chart a Course (release date August 2007)
Photos
Bio
In the summer of 2004, Patrick Disney, Ryan Gross and Todd Hale joined Lawrence Adams to form The Spill. The sole purpose was to record an album of worship music. The band rehearsed for 3 months and performed just a handful of concerts before heading in to Group Effort Studios to work with Jeff Monroe on a record.
In July of 2005, The Spill officially released their debut album, Canvas, a predominantly cover-based worship record that contained three original songs as well. Propelled by such songs as 'Praise You' and the title track 'Canvas', the album took off, selling more than 200 copies at the CD Release party alone. The first single, 'Forever My Love Remains', held the #1 spot on midwestbands.com radio for two consecutive weeks and was in constant rotation on 93.3 WAKW's "Breakout" program for new artists. It also went to number 12 on the IndieHeaven rock charts. A vastly different version of “Blessed Be Your Name” has taken off on iTunes and has become the band's most downloaded track
In supporting their record, The Spill played all over the midwest region. The band went from playing small backyard events to sharing the stage with regional acts Yours for Mine and 7th Time Down and opening for national recording artists The Afters, The Swift and Manic Drive. The album also garnered 3 Momentum Awards nominations at the C.I.A. (Christian Independent Artists) Summit for Album of the Year, Rock Artist of the Year and Male Vocalist of the year.
Today, The Spill carries on as a three-piece. Lawrence Adams made the difficult decision to leave The Spill to follow his heart in leading worship music at his church. After some time off focusing on other projects, Patrick, Ryan and Todd have regrouped to continue working on The Spill. Currently, they're holed up in their rehearsal space working on new material and are planning to begin recording later this summer.
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