'Accessible' is such a loaded word in the music world, as you generally hear it in association with bands who have compromised their artistic integrity to appease A&R; men and "move units" of their latest releases. But sometimes, a band is just plain accessible-- no compromising, no 'selling out,' no conspiracy. And face it: there are days when La Monte Young is just too extravagantly post-modern for your mood and Acid Mothers' blacklight psychedelia simply freaks you out. Sparta, friends. That's all I'm saying.

Jim Ward, Paul Hinojos and Tony Hajjar have kept in practice since At the Drive-In called for an "indefinite hiatus" last year, and their debut album as Sparta, Wiretap Scars, seems out to prove just that. Their aesthetic, of course, is somewhat different than At the Drive-In's; where ATDI was a surge of fried distortion and frayed, twisted nerves communicated through ruthless aggression and synaptic attacks, Sparta are (you guessed it) more accessible in every department: their music bursts with solid hooks, their production has been given a good shine, and, with the spotlight turned away from Cedric Bixler and Omar Rodriguez, they even look more like standard-fare indie everymen with nondiscript t-shirts and normal-guy haircuts.

True, Sparta probably doesn't stand a chance against ATDI in the originality department-- their sound is, frankly, like At the Drive-In crossed with pretty much every guitar-centric group fortunate enough to make it past the Clear Channel family-filters. Yet, despite this, they've managed to broaden the nervous-tic angst-rock of their previous band into something more readily adaptable without reducing it to mealy-mouthed pop regurge. Because of this, Wiretap Scars does lack some of the screamy immediacy of Relationship of Command, but it's certainly more balanced.

That Ward's frantic guitar lines haven't changed much since the last time he went down on record won't make any headlines, and since his guitar sets the tone for the majority of the album-- well, you Young Sherlock Holmeses have probably already solved that mystery. Sparta's real 'film at eleven'-sized surprise, however, isn't the musical similarity to their parent group, but how closely Ward's vocals stick to Cedric Bixler's signature formula. Now, I love me some ATDI, but I never much cared for Bixler's, uh, vocalizing, and Ward refines Cedric's style to more of a "quiet/loud/quiet/gyaaaah" sort of thing that sits a bit better with me. His throatly howl skirts along the edge (arms flailing, pebbles falling, toes over the edge-- that close to going over) of the dreaded precipice of "emo" or "screamo" or "just someone please put a fucking bullet in my skull"-- whatever media whores like myself are calling it these days. Fortunately, Ward avoids full-on cord-shredding, so even the shouts keep hold of the melody.

But back to the instruments, shall we? I might have browbeaten this ATDI vs Sparta bit enough by now, but I'm just going with what's applicable-- and just as the vocals sound like a more melodic (yet equally intense) take on The Drive-Ins, the music has been filtered through about 50 kHz of radio bandwidth. That is, the bass pounds a little heavier, the skins hit a little cleaner, and the guitars are a bit more direct, and all in the most unobtrusive way possible. But the biggest change is that Sparta are less concerned with noise and screeching feedback-- Wiretap Scars is straightforward, nervy rock, and its delicate, tension-fueled atmosphere doesn't leave much room for ATDI's poised-on-the-brink brand of unsteadiness or ultra-dense structures. Still, all this traveling lighter comes at a cost of its own, leaving Sparta somewhat lacking at times.

Of course, music that pushes boundaries or challenges the listener tends to have more staying power, and Sparta most assuredly do neither. You're likely to hear any number of these tracks (notably "Cataract" or "Sans Cosm") riding the questionable coattails of such crowdpleasers as Nickelback and Mest on "Total Request Live". But this, magically, fails to diminish Wiretap Scars, since there are still a few tracks 'difficult' enough to never hit the major media outlets. "Cut Your Ribbon" is simply splintering, power-hungry rock, showcasing the record's most memorable vocals, and the immediate follow-up, "Air", employs languid electronic backing tones and a strong contrast of moods before building to a breakneck chorus.

Scars seldom slows its pace, receding only a couple of times for a mid-tempo breather, and, to put it in as direct terms as possible, it's damn fun. Sparta have made what seems to be a conscious decision to forsake innovation in the name of refinement, and they handle it well, never coming off like the almost-ran ATDI retreads they had such potential to. And come to think of it, Wiretap Scars isn't even particularly unchallenging-- the band just chooses to issue their challenge to wind instead of smashing their listeners in the chops. Which, at last, proves the age-old adage that music doesn't always haven't to bust your jaw to get your attention.

-Eric Carr, August 29th, 2002