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Sparta formed back in 2001 when Jim Ward and Tony Hajjar's previous five
piece post hardcore band, At The Drive in, split up. The band wasted no
time and quickly made a name for themselves with their debut ep 'Austere'
which was released in early 2002. Since that time, Sparta have released
two full length albums with 'Wairetap Scars' in mid 2002 and the successful
'Porcelain' in 2004. Three years later and Sparta are back with a brand
new album 'Threes', now with a slight change in sound, a new record label
and a new line up. With guitarist Paul Hinojos leaving the band in 2005
to rival band The Mars Volta, Sparta took on former Engine Down member Keeley
Davis to complete the bands line up.
The band have always had a slight At The Drive In Sound about them but
with the release of 'Threes' the band move off into a more indie direction
with poppy and angry vibes thrown in for good measures. 'Threes' opens
up with the spooky introduction of 'Untreatable Disease' which really
kicks off with a stunning assault of guitars and drums after forty seconds
as well as Jim Ward's gripping vocals. 'Crawl' sees vocalist Jim Ward
sounding very similar to Thom Yorke from Radiohead. 'Unstitch Your Mouth'
is a song about a boy who is made fun of for no reason, its musically
a mellow track and is lead by Jim Ward's loud and clear vocals.
'Taking Back Control' is the lead single release from the album and is
one of the biggest sounding songs on the album with heavy guitars, Tony
Hajjar's loud, heavy constant drumming sounding better than anything he’s
done before, and Jim Ward's loud and clear political vocals. 'Erase It
Again' is a sing a long indie track with a huge stadium rock style chorus
that just needs to be heard. 'Atlas' is the most chilled out song on the
album with its acoustic sound. 'The Most Vicious Crime' is a mellow track
that builds up to a big loud chorus and finishes with a mellow acoustic
style outro.
Not every song on the album is great such as the average-ness of 'Red.Right.Return
(Straight in out Hands)’ and the boringness of the album finishing
track 'Translations' which is really mellow and doesn’t offer anything
good. But two below average tracks out of a thirteen track album isn’t
bad.
Overall Sparta have made the album of their career with 'Threes', an
album that mixes indie with hardcore which makes way for a collection
of angry but catchy sounding songs and shows the members own great musicianship.
The album is sure to gain the band a whole new range of fans due to the
mixed sound it has.
4.5/5
Review by Trigger |
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Members |
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Jim Ward (Vocals, Guitar)
Tony Hajjar (drums)
Keeley Davis (guitars)
Matt Miller (Bass) |
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Listing |
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1. Untreatable Disease
2. Crawl
3. Unstitch Your Mouth
4. Taking Back Control
5. Erase It Again
6. Atlas
7. The Most Vicious Crime
8. False Start
9. Weather The Storm
10. Red.Right.Return
11. Without A Sound
12. Translations
13. Born And Buried |
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| Band
Related Links |
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| Review
Score Code |
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- Top Cheese
- Brilliant
- Pretty damn good
- Ok I guess
-
What Was That? |
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