Sparta | Main

While their friendships stretch back to their childhood years, the origins of Sparta as a band go back at least to 1994. The family tree begins with Jim Ward, Paul Hinojos and Tony Hajjar playing in At the Drive-in, which Ward co-founded in 1994, and intersects with bassist Matt Miller's former band Belknap. Following the 2001 dissolution of At the Drive-in, Ward was contemplating returning to college, while Hinojos and Hajjar were already conceiving a new band and envisioning Jim as their first choice for frontman. The three ex-members of At the Drive-in recruited Matt Miller, and within a year, the punk-inspired four-piece had a deal with Dreamworks. Sparta released the Austere EP in March 2002. Then five months later, they issued their debut full-length Wiretap Scars. Touring from Texas to Iceland and beyond in support, the very busy band found time between opening for big acts and playing festivals to release a sophomore album, Porcelain. Recorded live with all the lyrics written by Ward, Porcelain marks a return for Sparta to their El Paso roots. Says Ward, "Every morning the route I had to drive to the studio was right along [the] El Paso/Juarez border. That reminded me on a daily basis of the core values I'd lost touch with while obsessing over so many other things." Also, the experiences of sharing the stage with such bands as Pearl Jam, Weezer, and Radiohead played a part in lending Sparta some of the confidence that makes the new record's material so expansive: where moods, tempos and textures shift and collide over the course of five, six and even eight-minute long compositions. "I just liked the word ‘porcelain' and what it implied: Something that's really beautiful and durable, but at the same time vulnerable, easily shattered. I like the duality." Given Jim Ward's explanation, Sparta would be hard pressed to find a more apropos title for its second album. Throughout their lives, the El Paso TX quartet has been surrounded and defined by a series of precarious balances and dualities. On Porcelain, these are analyzed, illustrated and in turns celebrated.