Album Review: Chris Cresswell – One Week

Chris CresswellFor those of you who checked out the interview I did with Joey Cape months back, you may have learned about One Week Records.  For those of you who have no idea what I am talking about, I suggest you take a moment and read that awesome interview.

Chris Cresswell of The Flatliners was one of the first artists to hole up in Cape’s abode and record an album.  In one week, the two recorded 10 amazing songs and skipped out on any type of over-producing.  The result was just an amazing release that I was not expecting.

Cresswell is typically known for his gruff vocals in The Flatliners but he’s completely cleared his throat for his One Week Record.  In fact, I was set back for a moment on how different and appealing his singing style was.  Having known he’s stripped down his style before, I suppose I just did not know what to expect prior to checking out this release.

Listening to “Meet Me in the Shade” was just so heavy on the heart.  I could almost relate in my past to the feelings Cresswell transformed into song.  Full of lyrics of dismay and solitude, Cresswell seemingly dumped heavy emotion into this track.  I really fond myself enjoying the song even more so when the piano playing snuck in.

Picking things up was “Little Bones”, a track what sounds like some serious swooning until the moment you realize that the lyrics on this track were pretty much Cresswell tearing a certain someone apart for being a cold, heartless human being.  The lyrics were amazing on this album.

“Stitches” really collaborated Cresswell and Cape’s talent in a great way in a song about healing and moving on.  Perhaps the best part of this track is when Cresswell belted out “I fall in love again with the silence in this song” over and over at the end.  Hands down, this was best track on this album.

Hearing the cover of Dead To Me’s “Arrhythmic Palpitations” was a nice bonus on this album.  Cresswell recorded a damn fine version that I may seriously now prefer over the original.  Everyone needs to hear this track.

“On the Day That You Died” was beyond somber and yet so beautiful.  This is the kind of song that brings tears to eyes while saying goodbye to a loved one.  Seriously, this track should be in the next Zach Braff movie he releases.  So sad…

Overall, this album far exceeded my expectations and I am going to be pre-ordering the vinyl release soon as I know this will be an album I will listen to quite frequently.

I think the thing I like best about this album is knowing that Cresswell and Cape recorded all of the songs in 7 days in Cape’s home.  I also love knowing that at the end, Cape handed Cresswell a Sharpie marker and told him to draw up the album cover.

The album is available digitally now on One Week Records for just 5 bucks.  The album is also going to be pressed on vinyl (as previously mentioned) thanks to Fat Wreck Chords and will be dropping soon.

Chris Cresswell

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