A new label (Hollywood Records) and a new guitar player (
Keeley Davis) seem to have invigorated the mighty
Sparta, resulting in an exchange of shadows with the often mightier
At the Drive-In. While
Sparta's previous releases have shown a knack for the brooding, bloody-fingered antics championed by bands like
...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead and
British Sea Power, the memorable moments have been few and far between, something that has changed considerably with
Threes. It only take 30 seconds into "Untreatable Disease" to see the spark returned to the once meaningful term emo, as vocalist/guitarist
Jim Ward finds the middle ground between
Jeremy Enigk's "Jack-in-the-box" howl and
Brandon Flowers cocky but ruined self-assurance. "Taking Back Control" may pilfer liberally from
U2's "New Years Day," "Atlas" may steal a page or two from
Coldplay, and "False Start" could launch a thousand stadium lighters, but
Sparta, especially on this record, sounds like a beast that's broken its chains and is fighting between the road ahead and going back from whence it came, and it's that indecision that makes
Threes so electrifying, even when it's not sure of what it wants to be.