“Wiretap Scars” is the full-length debut from Sparta. Sparta was one of the bands formed when popular Alternative Rock group At The Drive-In broke up right as their album was being accepted into the main steam. People said that At The Drive-In were the saviors of rock. They reminded people of those punk bands from long ago, accept the difference between them and these new ‘70s throwback groups (think Strokes, Hives, etc.) is that they played with pure aggression. There was no sugar-coating their music. I think this quote best describes At The Drive-In’s music, “Think Blink-182 without the little-girl funnies; Rage Against the Machine without the penchant for politics.”

After all the buzz about At The Drive-In, and finally when their album began to sell, something happened within the group. They were on tour in Japan when they announced they were going on an indefinite hiatus. This shook up the alternative underground who had put all their faith in the band from get-go. Something somewhere didn’t mix in the formula for punk rock. People still had hope that ATDI would get together and see the light of day again. However, one more blow occurred which seemed to seal the deal of death for them. “Grand Royal” records, the Beastie Boys label, and also label for ATDI, closed its doors. That was the last anyone heard of ATDI for a while.

Finally news came buzzing about two new bands, which were Mars Volta and Sparta. The original ATDI group had split. The lead guitarist, bassist, and drummer all went one way to Sparta, while the Afro wearing lead singer and rhythm guitarist formed a band calls Mars Volta. They began to tour and write songs, and once again nothing but positives came from people who witnessed them. Though the bands were a bit different. Mars Volta was more Hard Rock and very experimental. Sparta seemed to be the more mainstream-esque band as they played Hard Rock, but it seemed more like classic ATDI with a bit of emo thrown in. Both bands even released an EP around the same time earlier this year. But Sparta was the band to get out an album to the masses first.

You knew things were going well for Sparta as they were placed as one of the openers on Weezer’s latest tour. It seems Rivers is a fan of them as well. And he has all the reason to be. “Wiretap Scars” is one of the freshest Alternative-Punk albums this year. Its aggressive, raw, and yet subtle all at once. Songs like “Cut Your Ribbon”, “Rx Coup”, “Red Alibi”, “Air” (the first single), and “Mye” will having you breaking stuff and jumping around. Then you have the slower ones like “Collapse”, “Cataract”, and “Light Burns Clear” to even out the mix. But when I saw slower, I don’t mean ballad-like, as all these songs come in with a 1-2 punch eventually. Whether it be in the verses or the chorus this album will knock you off your feet. What I really found to be interesting was that they found a lead singer similar to ATDI’s lead singer, who is now in Mars Volta, to try to keep this sound as close as they can to their old classic, well known, ATDI sound. While the other group Mars Volta, is seemingly breaking the mold from what they are known for. However, for what Sparta does, they do it the best way they can. They were really the originator of all these ‘70s throwback, rock savior groups. Or at least the ones that hit big first, but then they faded away. What is more disappointing is that they will be thrown into the mix of these copy-cat bands of today, like Thursday whose inspiration is clear in ATDI. Sparta will have a long fight to get back to the top. But rest assured they will make it there.