Written By: Maria Arroyo
Hardcore rock band, Sparta, shares their first album in 14 years, Trust The River, out today! The band originated from El Paso, Texas and in 2001, former At the Drive-In band member, Jim Ward, started Sparta.
The opening track, “Class Blue,” starts us off with a soft rock feel, with great use of dynamics for a grander chorus introduction. While their rock sound still flows throughout the song, “Cat Scream” is more punk-oriented. The rhythm section is strong and really highlights their musicianship. Their next song is “Turquoise Dream,” which becomes a balanced mix of the first two songs. The tempo of the song gives off a more laid-back sound, but they never forgot about the dynamics. There is a lot of rising and fall between each different section, and it makes for a more diverse song.
Changing the direction slightly is their song, “Spirit.” This song introduces a ballad-like style to their rigid rock sound. The song was eerie and almost creepy, yet so enticing. I love the introduction of a female voice, and her sounds really meshes well with the rest of the band.
“Believe” and “Dead End Signs” continue to create this softer intensity for the album. The songs felt more intimate and created a lot more room to connect to the album from a more emotional perspective.
Their song, “Miracle,” became a great midpoint between the higher energy songs and the softer pieces. There were a lot of drastic dynamics which I love! Closing out the album is “No One Can Be Nowhere.” The taping of the outro was beautifully carried out. As always, the dynamics and intensity in their playing is spot on, while exploring a stunning vocal performance! It made for a solid ending that really encapsulates the essence of what Trust The River is.
This is truly an amazing album for the band to resurface on. With Trust The River as their album after 14 years, they really did it justice. There is a lot of growth and admiration in the album, so let’s hope they don’t wait another 14 years to put out another album!
If all goes well and we can go back to having live shows, catch Sparta at Johnny Brenda’s on August 13th!
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