Rating: NNN
The new four-track EP from Sparta — three-fourths of whom were members of former great white hype At the Drive-In — is well formed, well produced and packed tight with those frustratingly familiar riffs and melodies you can’t quite put your finger on but are pretty sure you heard back in the 80s when Joy Division reigned supreme. It’s your basic punk with electronic bits thrown in, with jangly guitars that sound like they flew off the Cure’s Disintegration. There are a few memorable flashes of synth pop, but the sounds are nothing shockingly new. There’s always hope for the upcoming album being produced by Jerry Finn (Sum 41). Sparta hit the Reverb Monday (April 8).
