I liked At the Drive in, and I've been following the two bands that came out of it - The Mars Volta and Sparta.

I've gotta say that Sparta is the better of the two, and their EP was the stuff, so I jumped over to BB on my lunch to grab the new Sparta full length cd for the $7 they had it advertised for...

Damn...I'm liking this CD a ton, and I'm sure the more I listen to it, it will get better and better. These guys seem to have this spacey but raw sound to them, all under some pretty abstract lyrics...

Anyone else pick this up? I think they're fan-friggin-tastic, actually better than ATDI was...

I couldn't stop playing the Sparta album after I happened across it at BB yesterday afternoon. Definitely one of my favorites of the year so far.

I tired of the Sparta album pretty quickly. It's good enough, but Jim Ward's voice isn't quite interesting enough for me over the course of an album. I like the Mars Volta more. Both good bands though.

You know, I've got a gripe or two after listening to this a little more...

First off, the songs that were on Austere EP that made it to Wiretap Scars are now not as good, being they are redone with different lyrics in places (not a big deal, because the lyrics are better) and Jim Ward sounding like he could really care less. They have more of a live feel to them now, less polished, and with Ward singing less than he did on the EP. Also, the track "Vacant skies" from the EP didn't make it to the album, and I felt that was the best song on there.

Gripes stemming from the ep-album song versions aside, the rest of the cd is pretty damn solid. I can't wait to see them live, provided they come to Pittsburgh, as we haven't had much for shows here lately...