Wiretap Scars is the debut studio album by American post-hardcore band Sparta. It was released on August 13, 2002 by DreamWorks Records and peaked at number 71 on the Billboard 200. Only months separated this release from their debut EP, Austere. The album is greatly influenced by the music of At the Drive-In, with whom most of Sparta's members played before their split in 2001.
| Wiretap Scars | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | August 13, 2002 | |||
| Recorded | January – March 2002 | |||
| Studio | Armoury (Vancouver) House of Blues (Encino) Cherokee (Hollywood) | |||
| Genre | Alternative rock, post-hardcore | |||
| Length | 45:38 (International edition) 49:33 (UK edition) | |||
| Label | DreamWorks | |||
| Producer | Jerry Finn | |||
| Sparta chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from Wiretap Scars | ||||
| ||||
The vocals and track naming in particular reflect At the Drive-In's Relationship of Command, the last album by the group. This is in contrast to the music of the Mars Volta, formed by two other members of At the Drive-In (Omar and Cedric), which departs entirely from the post-hardcore genre.
Critical reception
edit| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 69/100[1] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [2] |
| Drowned in Sound | 9/10[3] |
| Pitchfork | 7.2/10[4] |
| Punknews.org | [5] |
| Rolling Stone |  [6] |
| Sputnikmusic | 4.0/5[7] |
Wiretap Scars garnered positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average rating of 69, based on 14 reviews.[1]
Drowned in Sound's Andy Frankowski commended the band for retaining the Drive-In sound while offering a more controlled melodic approach to it, concluding that "[T]hey show a different sign of maturing; it's a kind of growing older without really aging. They have the same talent they had before but it's the way they deliver it that will have eyes being opened and ears to the ground."[3] Jason Jackowiak of Splendid commented about the record, "With Wiretap Scars, Sparta have not only made great strides in the progression of their art form; they've also acknowledged the artists who inspired them. That said, the question remains: will Sparta gain recognition on the basis of their own merits, or are they forever to be judged against the accomplishments of their previous employers? Only time will tell."[8] Sputnikmusic emeritus Damrod praised the band's musicality for its use of instruments and electronic beats to craft quiet yet rough tracks that flow well throughout the record, concluding that "This is a great album by a great band. Definitely one of the better Indie/Post-Hardcore bands out there. The production is good, the overall feel of the album as well. If you liked ATD-I, I guess you will have kind of easy access to this one, though it is much more mellow than most stuff by ATD-I."[7] Noel Murray of The A.V. Club said that, "Dialing down At The Drive-In's ferociousness and concentrating more on its exploration of dynamic, textured volume, Sparta has made a smartly produced, superficially exciting record full of deafening electric hum, full-throated shouts, and quiet, intricately picked guitar breaks."[9]
Alternative Press ranked "Cut Your Ribbon" at number 61 on their list of the best 100 singles from the 2000s.[10]
Tour
editOn April 12, 2023, the band announced a 40-city U.S. tour celebrating the 20th anniversary of their debut record, beginning on May 4 at the Nile Half House in Mesa, Arizona and finishing on August 12 in Dallas' Southside Music Hall. '68, Thursday's Geoff Rickly and zeta were supporting acts on the tour.[11]
Track listing
editAll tracks are written by Sparta
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Cut Your Ribbon" | 3:04 |
| 2. | "Air" | 3:57 |
| 3. | "Mye" | 3:39 |
| 4. | "Collapse" | 4:16 |
| 5. | "Sans Cosm" | 3:59 |
| 6. | "Light Burns Clear" | 4:24 |
| 7. | "Cataract" | 5:11 |
| 8. | "Red Alibi" | 3:42 |
| 9. | "℞ Coup" | 3:14 |
| 10. | "Glasshouse Tarot" | 5:13 |
| 11. | "Echodyne Harmonic" | 3:57 |
| 12. | "Assemble the Empire" | 3:02 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 13. | "Vacant Skies" | 3:55 |
| 14. | "Echodyne Harmonic (de-mix)" |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 13. | "Vacant Skies" | 3:55 |
Personnel
editCredits adapted from the liner notes of Wiretap Scars.[12]
|
Sparta
Additional musician
Artwork
|
Production
|
Charts
edit| Chart (2002) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA Hitseekers)[13] | 5 |
| US Billboard 200[14] | 71 |
References
edit- ^ a b "Reviews for Wiretap Scars by Sparta". Metacritic. Archived from the original on November 5, 2022. Retrieved November 22, 2016.
- ^ Loftus, Johnny. "Wiretap Scars - Sparta". AllMusic. Archived from the original on April 20, 2019. Retrieved October 24, 2012.
- ^ a b Frankowski, Andy (August 10, 2002). "Album Review: Sparta - Wiretap Scars". Drowned in Sound. Archived from the original on November 23, 2016. Retrieved November 22, 2016.
- ^ Carr, Eric (August 22, 2002). "Sparta: Wiretap Scars". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on January 24, 2024. Retrieved October 24, 2012.
- ^ Daren (August 27, 2002). "Sparta - Wiretap Scars". Punknews.org. Archived from the original on February 7, 2024. Retrieved November 22, 2016.
- ^ Appleford, Steve (August 26, 2002). "Sparta: Wiretap Scars". Rolling Stone. Wenner Media. Archived from the original on June 2, 2007. Retrieved October 24, 2012.
- ^ a b Damrod (June 30, 2005). "Sparta - Wiretap Scars". Sputnikmusic. Retrieved November 22, 2016.
- ^ Jackowiak, Jason (August 14, 2002). "Sparta: Wiretap Scars". Splendid. Archived from the original on April 16, 2008. Retrieved November 22, 2016.
- ^ Murray, Noel (August 30, 2002). "Sparta: Wiretap Scars". The A.V. Club. The Onion. Archived from the original on August 20, 2022. Retrieved March 26, 2024.
- ^ Paul, Aubin (November 20, 2009). "At The Drive-In's "One Armed Scissor" tops AP's 'Haircut 100' singles countdown". Punknews.org. Archived from the original on December 2, 2023. Retrieved October 13, 2022.
- ^ Kaufman, Spencer (April 12, 2023). "Sparta Announce 2023 US Tour Celebrating 20th Anniversary of Wiretap Scars [Updated]". Consequence. Archived from the original on June 6, 2023. Retrieved March 26, 2024.
- ^ Wiretap Scars (booklet). Sparta. DreamWorks. 2002. 0044503662.
{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ^ "ARIA Report: Issue 677" (PDF). ARIA. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 23, 2008. Retrieved November 3, 2023.
- ^ "Sparta Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved October 17, 2022.
External links
edit- Wiretap Scars at Discogs (list of releases)