SPARTA
Wiretap Scars (Dreamworks)
Reviewed by DJ Johnson

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A mailbox mystery, as I don't know who sent this to me or why they would when it was released almost a year ago on a major label (not that we mind reviewing older releases, it's just that the majors rarely send things out this late). Naturally, it got my curiosity up, so I popped it into the player and had one of those strange experiences where you know that there are dozens of other bands doing things almost like it that you don't care for, yet this one is getting through to you. My job description demands that I should be able to explicate this with ease, but... so much for job descriptions. I don't mind that vocalist Jim Ward sounds a little like Bono when he's not screaming, that the music is high-tension emo or that the songs don't often have anything resembling a "hook" as it is traditionally known. Sparta let their collective energy create the hook in an explosion of power orbited by delicate guitar sounds that contain only a bit of the flames. It's easy to get caught up in that pretty sound swirling around the inferno and feel like you're drifting, and it's quite something to suddenly realize what you're drifting on is shaking the drinking glasses off your countertop. They recorded this in August of 2002 for Dreamworks. Will they be back? I'm hoping so.

© 2003 - DJ Johnson