Through The Sparks

July 24, 2007

It’s a shame I’ve kept this band to myself so long, because they’ve really been one of my favorite musical discoveries this summer. Through The Sparks has a simmering pop sound mixing doses of piano, synths, and other pretty instruments with a more conventional guitar rock. The results are pretty spectacular, the album (titled Lazarus Beach) contains far more hits than it does misses.

The biggest highlight for me is the second track, “Mexico (Every Last Buffalo)”. Lyrically, the song cleverly tackles American imperialism in the space-age and musically, it sounds like a mix of 70’s singer/songwriter material with some modern piano rock influences. I have to agree with the Pitchfork reviewer, that the “shake it off” part of the song, sounds an awful lot like Spoon, in a very good way. The band’s vocals sometime sound like an echo-y David Bowie, probably best exemplified on “The Final If and When.” At it’s core it’s a bouncy piano pop song, but with dense blanket of sounds (background aaahs, sparse electric guitar, bells and synths) that all come together beautifully. Take a listen, I’m pretty sure you’ll love it.

MP3 Mexico (Every Last Buffalo)
MP3 The Final If and When

Buy the album
Listen to more at myspace

Posted by Taylor in Artist Spotlight