Sparta

I was super disappointed to see the At the Drive In broke up, especially because I had tickets to see them in concert two weeks later. So when I saw that Sparta rose from the ashes, I was eager to hear what would materialize.

Again, disappointment. This band sounds like ATDI if you take out all the piss and vinegar that made them rock so hard to begin with. The raw energy and intensity is gone here, and what is left is music that sounds uninspired and dry. There are a few good tracks here, but for the most part the album is just lacking punch. The version of "Mye" here I had originally heard on the Austere EP, and I liked it a bunch. But on this album the chorus is changed, and again, it lacks feeling after the change.

Mars Volta, Sparta, neither one is At The Drive In quality, and it's sad because I really miss that band a ton.

Unfairly compared to At the Drive-In, Sparta represents the culmination of that emo-core energy in a tighter arrangement. Those who want something more loopy, reckless and abstract should check out the Mars Volta, but for those who want a refined sound and texture can't fail with this.

Sure, it's not as technically impressive, original or daring as either of the other two bands, but Sparta has tremendously powerful songs that have more emotion and vitality than most other music in the market today. Individual songs achieve near perfection, but the sum of its parts makes Wiretap Scars a true breakthrough, a debut that's a near-masterpiece (and on some days, is one).

Doesn't require the altered mood needed to really get into the less predictable excursions of its type, and it rocks as heavy and passionately as one could hope for. "Sans Cosm" kicks you in the teeth, "Cataract" has a dynamic build up that's indescribable, and "Collapse" is a potent, mid-tempo rocker that recalls the Cure. And it's impossible to ignore the buried beauty of "Air" and the astonishing drive of "Mye." First single, "Cut Your Ribbon," is actually one of the weakest tracks, but the only one that fails to reach the heights is the rather tepid final song, "Assemble the Empire."

Best cuts: "Sans Cosm," "Cataract," "Collapse," "Glasshouse Tarot," "Light Burns Clear," "Mye," "Air," "Echodyne Harmonic," "Red Alibi," "Cut Your Ribbon," "RX Coup"

I've seen too many reviews marginalizing this album because it's not At The Drive In or Mars Volta - they're right, it's not, and that's why it's brilliant. Independent of the comparisons, taken solely for what it is (rather than what's it's not), Wiretap Scars earns each of its five stars. The level of its energy and the sincerity of its emotion have made this album one of my all-time favorites, which is what led me to write this review some 4+ years after I first purchased it. I disagree that this album is just a disjointed collection of songs; personally, I think it's one of the most cohesive albums I've heard in the last decade - the pace and attack of the songs changes over the course of the album but the emotional tone stays the same: desperate and somewhat nostalgic. I've never tired of this album and it has scarcely left my CD player over the last several years.

I had been a fan of At The Drive-In, and when that band fractured into Sparta and the more popular The Mars Volta, I investigated both new bands. The Mars Volta have certainly become more well known; and their style of bizarre, experimental art-rock/psychedelia/fusion/whatever is interesting, but I seriously think that this album by their counterparts Sparta is one of the great underappreciated alt-rock albums of all time.

Pop-inflected, atmoshpheric, creative, otherworldy, artistic, catchy, gritty, expressive....these are all way I could describe this amazing and addictive album. Both more coherent and more well-written than anything The Mars Volta have ever done; it really is a shame that this album didn't receive more attention from the music-buying public. For me, this band and Sunny Day Real Estate are the veritable apogee of the alt-rock/emo sound, in different ways, without some of the annoying pretense and smug hipness of some of the other bands in the genre. I still can't get this one out of my CD player. A modern obscure classic!

This album is instantly palatable, and the grandeur of this work is awesome. Every track is instantly catchy, and the lyrics and music are well put together. This album features 3 out of the 5 ex-At the Drive In members from El Paso Texas: Jim Ward (vocals), Paul Hinojos (guitar), and Tony Hajjar (drums), and you can definitely see where At the Drive In got some of its influences from. Jim does an excellent job at taking the reins at vocals, and in my opinion, the break-up of At the Drive In has provided us with two excellent bands (the Mars Volta and Sparta) that can more than adequately hold their own apart from their previous band, if not even better. This album has a somewhat euphoric quality to the guitar work, and leaves you in a state of wonder, and the overall raw integrity to which lead singer Jim Ward lends his vocals is amazing. Standout tracks are abundant, but if I had to pick my favorites, they would be: "Air", "Collapse", "Light Burns Clear", and especially "Glasshouse Tarot", which in my opinion, is the best sounding song on the album. For harder tracks reminiscent of ATDI, check out "Cut Your Ribbon" and "Assemble the Empire". EL PASO ROCKS!!!

A great album. Porcelain is very moving and tons of energy to accompany it!

"wiretap scars" was a really cool cd with some great high points. with "porcelain," sparta came back with a much fresher, more positive vibe and more shiny production. the lyrics are about changing your life around and all that jazz. as far as catchy alt-rock emotional distorted tunes like sparta are so good at, you're not going to find any other band doing it better. the whole album is enjoyable. you can tell the band and the singer were willing to take risks here in trying something new. it works best for the first 5 songs, where each song is better than the last, which is a pretty amazing effect. things get slower toward the end songs, but they're still good. i don't skip any songs and that's a good thing. if you don't like this cd... sorry, go listen to the mars volta or whatever. but if you like this type of music, you won't be disappointed. my only criticism is the singer perhaps does the screaming thing too much, and the lyrics are perhaps cliche sometimes. other than that, it's GREAT. not many rock bands TRULY "rock" these days, except for cursive. it's hard to think of any others. rock is now deader than dirt. we're a long way from the 90's days of the smashing pumpkins and nirvana. every band is adopting some fad to get famous with the kids. so don't miss out if someone brings the goods to the table. and check them out live, they're good. and PLEASE STOP with the ATDI comparisons, sparta is their own band, they have nothing to do with ATDI. "relationship of command" was a great album, but that was years ago and a different band, different singer, different writers.

A truly lousy record. "wiretap scars" were in many ways briliant but something went wrong with "porcelain". The album give no memorable riffs or chorus what so ever. Each song sound alike and after a while you are really bored. A truly lousy record

Mars Volta wins.

I could leave the review at that one line but to put it another way, 15 years from now almost no one will remember Sparta and Mars Volta will still be considered a seminal band.

There are 5 totally rocking tracks on this disk (the last 9 are kinda generic).

The good tracks are simply as good as indie rock gets: extremely catchy, stick in your brain hard rock. Great for before you surf, snowboard or skate. Based on how good these good tracks are, I'll give it my favorite album of the year award.

Like most bands, buy all their albums and make your own compilation disk.

If you've heard anything about this rising bunch of rockers from El Paso, then you might know that they're half of what used to be known as At the Drive In, those now-defunct sorcerers of distortion-soaked hardcore punk. But don't let that fool you. Sparta's sound boasts as much testosterone but less of the angst of their forefathers. And if the only thing At the Drive-In is remembered for is Cedric's big hair, they've got Sparta to thank for it. Trading the angsty abandon of ATDI's "Acrobatic Tenement" for the softened but still-present edges of "Threes", Sparta has found a way to risk the leap from ATDI's adolescent mania to a sound that some might be tempted to describe with the word that has poisoned many careers in music--hold your nose now--"mature."

But that's just the thing about Sparta-if we must call them "mature" in our useless comparisons with their predecessors, they find a way to do it without sounding so bored you think they're just singing along to their grandpa's record collection. In fact, the lush, sonic roller coaster of "The Guns of Memorial Park" or the many searing rockers here on "Threes" burst from the stereo like exploding stars, the blistering hooks of Keeley Davis's guitar riding Jim Ward's soaring vocals into the unexplored reaches of your dreams. "Threes" is easily their most focused work yet, and it sports a more cohesive and muscular rock sound that boasts an identity and voice they hadn't found until now.

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I was like "OK" to this the first time I heard it. Good stuff but nothing crazy. HOWEVER, after a few more plays... this is a really good album! Definitely the best Sparta CD yet. Probably the best "unheard of" album in 2007.

After the moderately disappointing Porcelain, there was some doubt over whether Sparta would push on as a band. While Threes arrived with the sort of fanfare absence that would suggest that this might be the last gasp of a disappearing dream, the result is anything but a wheeze. This third album still sounds markedly different than their startlingly strong debut; it combines the elements that worked best on their last album with some of their strong techniques honed so well on Wiretap Scars.

Eleven of the twelve tracks are very good (only "Without a Sound" is lacking, but even that one probably won't have you reaching for the skip button). The epic "The Most Vicious Game" is basically a blueprint of the sort of stuff they do best, notably transitioning the whisper to the thunder, "Taking Back Control" is a solid rager, and "Crawl" is gloom and grind in a tidy but electrifying package. Although it seems for certain now that they'll never top their first album, at least they're progressing in a direction that promises success. In a year full of disappointments, this one actually meets and even exceeds the expectations.

Best cuts: "Crawl," "The Most Vicious Game," "Taking Back Control," "Atlas," "False Start," "Untreatable Disease," "Erase It Again," "Translations," "Unstitch Your Mouth," "Weather the Storm," "Red.Right.Return (Straight in Our Hands)"

I've been a fan of Sparta after hearing "Wiretap scars". That CD was pretty much in my car for a year because it's mood and the songs just rang so well. "Porcelin" had it's moments and I believe that it's a fine CD as well. With "Threes" Sparta I believe has continued to refine their sound. Their music gives off this feeling that they're trying to create that perfect melody but never quite reach it and in the effort they create a gorgeous song by accident. Favorites for me off this CD are "Taking back control", "Atlas" "Red. Right.Return...". If you enjoy Sparta then you've probably already got this album, if you're borderline on whether to get it or not then get "Wiretap Scars" first then if you enjoy that then you should give this a try. Sparta for me have yet to make another 5 star record since Wiretap but they will. Beautiful tragic music.

I didn't buy the new Threes album for a while after it came out, I actually bought it yesterday. The reason for this hesitation was from all the negative reviews I read online about it. After listening to it for myself, I can't understand why people are having such a hard time with it. Threes is a GREAT album, and I'm glad to own it. People can't be comparing it to Wiretap Scars or Porcelain, it just isn't those albums. It sounds like Sparta, and it's just a collection of new songs that people don't recognize yet. But only listening for a day or two, I have found many songs that I KNOW I will love. It's a great album. You should own it too! And defiantly see them in concert! Tons of energy and Jim Ward is hilarious!

The first two songs are good, but these same songs are on "Wiretap Scars" (their first EP) - get that instead

the singing on the whole EP is not very good, but the guitars are kinda cool.

The 3rd song is fairly generic and the last track is just blatant filler - a stupid drumbeat with some low-fi noise

...the sleeve artwork sucks, too

1 and 1/2 star

Wow...Sparta...if i could, i'd go on about them forever. They're a truly inspiring group. i agree with the first guy.."its great make out music" heheh ;)...i've gone farther with this music btw if you know what i mean. you wont be disappointed. Porcelain (Sparta's second album) seems to be a more detached form of music from their old band ATDI. I wouldn't say its better then Wiretap Scars because they're both teh sh*t. buy them. now.

I don't know what to say about this cd. I'm torn between emotions. I love it, but it was too damn short. I want it to keep going. Its weird. Oh well........what they do have on the cd is gold. Whether you are an emo kid or just a regular guy who doesn't know about the music scene these days everyone can enjoy sparta. Its a really special cd. GREAT MAKEOUT MUSIC!!!! trust me. Look up Wire Tap Scars. You won't be sorry.

While Mars Volta went on to experiment in a different kind of rock sound, Sparta sticks with the sound that At the drive-in had nurtured for 6 or so years before they went different ways. Austere sounds like a mix of Relationship of Command and In/Casino/out, with a lot of tweaking on the Pro Tools, giving the EP somewhat of a techno feel that was very foreign to any of the ATDI album. This release did not quite live up to the standards that the 3 members in Sparta had set before with ATDI, the songwriting was shaky and erratic, but it was still good anyways.

I keep comparing them to ATDI and Mars Volta which is unfortunate because Sparta still seems like they are experimenting with their sound and haven't quite finished messing around. But this is not a bad thing, as this was only an EP and only their first release as Sparta. I look forward to their Full Length release in late summer of this year.

Wow this is an intersting new sound that Sparta has. I read they are the 3 remaining members of At the drive-in. I didn't really care for that band, but what Sparta has put out is a great new sound. If I had to compare it to something I have heard before, I would have to say it sounds like a cross between A perfrct cirlce, and The Cure. This is how interesting of a sound that Sparta has developed. I would recomend this record only to people with an alternativly open mind. If you are into more of the straight forward rock sound of todays modern music or numetal as it is called, you may not like Sparta. I myself am open to any type of weird rock music, as long as it has some substance and uniformity to it. Sparta definitly has this sort of Quality to their material. I first heard "Mye"-track 1, and was sold. I then had the pleasure of hearing "Cataract", which was followed with "Vacant Skies", this is where you can hear The Cure the most, and musically is A Perfect Circle. Sparta is an original sound all it's own really, and a very original sound at that... Just wish it was a full-length disk, and not just an E.P...

...I was upset when At The Drive-In broke up and I am loving both The Mars Volta AND Sparta, but 31+ dollars for an extra song that you get on the Austere EP is a bit much. Just buy the regular Wiretap Scars and the Austere EP.

Wow, what an incredible album. The album kicks in with the song Guns of Memorial Park, which is a great start to the album. It really sets you up for something special. The funky guitar riffs remind me of John Frusciante's genius, and the lead singers voice blends in very nicely with the sound. This band is such a breath of fresh air in the rock community, cause god knows it needs it. My favourite tracks on the album are 'Lines In The Sand', 'From Now To Never' and 'While Oceania Sleeps'. I recommend this album to fans of Mars Volta, and fans of rock in general. Please get this album, you owe it to yourself.