Porcelain

When At The Drive-In imploded so spectacularly a couple of years ago, most spectators were left confused by the turn of events. The band were, after all, just beginning to reap the reward for their efforts.
As the dust has settled, however, it’s become clear that the Mars Volta Axis of Cedric and Omar were unhappy that their colleagues were steering the band down a more commercial, mainstream path.

Although the ferocious Relationship Of Command might have suggested otherwise, the second album from Sparta starts to make sense of their fear.
Formed by guitarist Paul Hinojos, drummer Tony Hajjar and original ATD-I member Jim Ward, the band does indeed take some of the elements of the past and make them a little more suitable for mass consumption.
Broken down to its individual elements, the record has some nice moments. Hinojos’s inventive playing hints that he might have been a more important architect of his old band’s sound than he was given credit for and he, Hajjar and bassist Matt Miller inject many of the songs with lovely flourishes. Ward’s lyrics too are interesting, often exploring the complex nature of his upbringing as a white kid in the largely Mexican American El Paso region. The problem is that it just never comes together as a cohesive whole.
For all the intended fiery rage, the occasions when they take their foot off the pedal – ‘While Oceana Sleeps’, ‘Lines In Sand’, ‘Tensioning’ – are in fact the most interesting. Elsewhere, they end up sounding like Incubus, which is not a good thing.
If they really let their hearts rule their heads, Sparta could well do something amazing – but for now I’m afraid it’s the pair with the big hair that hold the upper hand.