Album Review :
The Canvas Waiting - In Search of Beginnings... (Special Edition)

Artist: The Canvas Waiting
Album: In Search of Beginnings… (Special Edition)
Label: Scotoma Artist Co-op
Release Date: January 30, 2007
Review by: Eric Pettersson

Tracklist
1. Carousel Ride
2. These Familiar Arms
3. Opener
4. In Search of Beginnings
5. Scout
6. Exit 1028
7. Sincerely Yours
8. Weight of the World
9. Ruby
10. I Hope the West Treats You Well
11. Are You Listening?
12. Carousel Ride (music video)

In Search of Beginnings… was originally released independently on February 13, 2006. The release consisted of seven tracks, but after they hooked up with the Scotoma Artist Co-op (an excellent idea that more bands should follow, by the way) they have decided to issue a re-release that is currently #79 on Smartpunk’s list of the “Top 100 CDs for the Past 3 Weeks” (although on March 2 they posted a blog stating it was at #37). The reissue contains the original 7 tracks along with 4 new acoustic demos and an Enhanced CD featuring their video for the song “Carousel Ride.”

Lead singer and guitarist Nathan Medina could easily pull first place in a Chris Carrabba look-alike contest. For better or worse, this resemblance is strictly physical. Nathan’s voice actually reminds me more of Emery. He sings clearly, but with a delicately crafted waver that seems to say I’m glad I escaped being sucked into an emo band. Musically, The Canvas Waiting creates a melodic indie rock sound that seems to fit comfortably between The Academy Is… and Daphne Loves Derby. The songs are catchy yet mature. Not disgustingly poppy, but not overbearingly serious. In themselves, these first seven songs make it a worthwhile purchase, but the four acoustic demos up the ante even more. They’re a little slower than the rest of the record, and Nathan sings even more smoothly, experimenting once or twice with the falsetto. The music video on the Enhanced part of the disc could have been better, or even left out completely, but some will enjoy it and it didn’t hurt to include it.

In a time when I so easily review a CD and then pass it along or let it sit on my shelf, I have decided that this one will actually be ripped to my computer and added to my CD wallet. The Canvas Waiting have made a fan out of me, which (partially thanks to MySpace) is an increasingly difficult thing for a band to do lately. This is a solid debut, and The Canvas Waiting will be a band to watch in the future.

8/10

Official Site
MySpace
PureVolume

Buy it at Smartpunk for only $9.25