Sparta Rocks With J. Robbins, Frank Iero On New LP

Sparta has never been a band content to linger in the past, even when that past looms large. More than two decades removed from the post–At the Drive-In explosion, the group has set a May 29 release for its sixth album, Cut a Silhouette, out May 29 via Equal Vision Records and Dine Alone Records.

When SPIN last caught up with frontman Jim Ward in 2021, he spoke candidly about rediscovering purpose after years of fits and starts, and about rebuilding not just a band, but a relationship with music itself. Cut a Silhouette feels like a clear extension of that mindset, or, as Ward puts it more bluntly now, “this is a love record.”

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Produced by Jawbox’s J. Robbins at his Baltimore-based Magpie Cage studios in a rapid seven-day session, Cut a Silhouette pulls from songs written everywhere from hotel rooms to soundchecks. First single “Crater” was co-written with My Chemical Romance’s Frank Iero, while the album title was derived from Macaulay Culkin’s interview Amazon Prime’s recent John Candy documentary I Like Me.

“He said that when he met John Candy, he just entered your brain and cut a silhouette,” says Ward. “Like, he just left an impression, is the way I see it. And when I heard him say that, I was like, oh! That’s what I want this record to be. I want it to leave an impression.”

“This feels like we’re a fucking band again,” he continues, referencing bassist Matt Miller and drummer Neil Hennessy. “All three of us are in a room, we’re all writing together, we’re listening to each other. This is now a constructive creative process, and it’s now the end of this era. Like, I made it through.”

Sparta will support the album on tour with Jimmy Eat World and Toadies, and at select headlining dates in Latin America this spring and summer.

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