SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: A THOUSAND WEEKS – THE LAST MIRAGE

A THOUSAND WEEKS
THE LAST MIRAGE
INDEPENDENT

The names Fred Jeske and Joe Maydak may seem familiar. It could be that you may be familiar with their other project/band Conduit Of Humanity. Like that band, A Thousand Weeks is a musical collective that brings a number of people together to produce a rather retro, but totally unique, sound. For this album, The Last Mirage, Jeske and Maydak have brought together Prairie Prince, Canada’s guitar wizard Jordon Zadorozny, vocalist Candice Latimer, and many others.

A Thousand Weeks dip their toes in shoegaze, rock, dance, and sometimes retro. Songs like “Behind The Mirror” have a distinct Cocteau Twins/This Mortal Coil vibe going on, while other songs, like the far too short “Headlights” with a nice scratching record for a backing, is more of a torch song. Elsewhere, “Center Shaper” is an almost instrumental prog rock song. It isn’t prog, but it brings to mind the style and sensibility. It is a great song. The album ends with the energetic and very different sounding “Runaway (Lee Rosevere Remix)”. The original “Runaway” is on the album, but in true remix fashion, it becomes a whole new song.

It is a very cohesive and consistent album, and even with all the different sounding songs on the album, everything seems to fit together. Like classic albums of the past, A Thousand Weeks keeps you guessing until the very end. One never knows where they will take the listener. It is the type of album that, to these ears, works best when you absorb it from beginning to end. It is not a collection of singles sewn together, but a creative journey.

Jeske and Maydak are very talented individuals, and once again, they have come up with a project/album that is hard to describe. This is a solid rock album with a lot of twists and turns to keep things interesting. Everyone contributes their best and the collective is better for it. Although A Thousand Weeks is Jeske’s and Maydak’s brainchild, the end result is a one great album.

Artist Links