Sparta
Wiretap Scars

THE REVIEW

It is not easy to find the right and rewarding words to describe Wiretap Scars, the debut album by Sparta. I fear I won't find terms that are worthy enough to do justice to an emotion I hadn't felt in years, precisely since the first album by Queens Of The Stone Age. But perhaps that's how it should be, perhaps they themselves with this masterpiece wanted to definitively close with the past (of ATDI) and at the same time surprise all the experts and critics in the field who had long considered rock dead. The most suffering nostalgics had been waiting for it for years, and now it has finally arrived! I don't just consider it the rock album of the year, to be clear, Sparta goes much further, reaching those privileged levels that make it timeless and which have been dominated by only a few before them. 12 unprecedented tracks, simply fantastic, capable of conveying on first listen all the energy and exclusivity of the best indie rock. Jim Ward's voice is imposing, a bittersweet thrill, a sort of Sting in a hard version. He is the reference point in this band and highlights it in his own way in all the pieces, despite the melodic bases being equally refined, to the point of convincing me every time to accompany them from start to finish with the guitar: my way of sharing my emotions with them and, in the end, also of expressing my gratitude more than I can with these lines. The guitars are skilled at reviving the now lost and exhausted joy for soft-hard changes, always harmonic and above all exciting. Few but good electronic accompaniments serve as a background to drums that are less rebellious and better integrated into the general sounds compared to ATDI. Now that I think about it, perhaps the right words I was missing are only theirs "Wake up! Can you hear me?" from "Cut Your Ribbons", the first track of the album. I don't want to and can't reveal anything else, just a piece of advice: if you are like me and have been searching for many years for a new super rock band like Nirvana, The Smashing Pumpkins, U2, Radiohead, or Fugazi, this is the CD for you! With this work, Sparta will leave a great mark. djd P.S.: In November, they will be on tour in England along with the Hundred Reasons.