The Spill Canvas with Harbour at Deep Ellum Art Co.

In an era when music festivals are handing out increasingly large cash rewards for decades-old bands to get back together, it’s somewhat rare that those reunion shows lead to new material from the artists. The Spill Canvas are one such band—after reuniting for a handful of tours in support of their iconic mid-aughts LPs, Nick Thomas talked his band into writing their first new material together in nearly a decade. Conduit follows 2012’s Gestalt, incorporating plenty of new life experience into the lyrics sheet without upending their recognizable grungy, emo-tinged pop-punk sound too much. Wrestling with heavy topics ranging from poly-substance addiction, a schizoaffective disorder diagnosis, and the death of his mother, Thomas’ lyrics are shaded with a new sense of earnestness, even while the music sounds like—in Thomas’ words—”Cursive mashed up with The 1975.” Vocal contributions from members of All Get Out and Eisley, though, reinforce the spirit of emo and post-hardcore the band’s been maintaining for two decades now.

– floodmagazine.com