Chances are, you are not like me. I was a fan of At the Drive-In. I was further excited when the band split into two seperate entities following the death of ATDI affiliate Jeremy Ward. Most people followed Cedric Bixler and Omar Rodriguez Lopez to take hallucinogens and listen to wandering epic jams. I on the other hand preferred the soaring post-punk stylings of Sparta. Sounding more like their predecessor, Sparta harnesses the rythm section (Jim Ward and Tony Hajjar) that made ATDI a fucking nailbomb of Drive Like Jehu proportions. As a long time fan of the band, I was alarmed to hear that guitarist Paul Hijinos quit and joined The Mars Volta. On top of Hijinos departure, Sparta left Geffen Records who put out the bands first two albums. Just knowing the band has a new album coming on Hollywood Records is good news. I assure you the new album lives up to the previous releases, sans Geffen and Hijinos. The song structures on "Threes" are more abstract, but still pack the emotionally charged chorus delivery that we used to hear from ATDI. "Untreatable Disease", "Taking Back Control", and "Erase It Again" all are worthy of singing along to with a fist in the air. I am also continually impressed by the amount of texture Sparta gives to the guitar playing, often using multiple effects and driving bass lines. What I am basically trying to say is that Sparta is a great major label band. "Threes" is a testament to the bands consistancy and overall excellence.Listen to: Untreatable Disease
They also happen to be touring the US. Right now.
