Sparta Releases New Track 'Empty Houses,' Announces More Tour Dates

Sparta are returning with a new album Trust The River on April 10 and today the El Paso band featuring Jim Ward shares a new single off the LP, "Empty Houses." Of the track Ward notes, "Our bass player Matt Miller brought in the completed music and lyrical concept for 'Empty Houses' and I fell in love with it - I worked out the final lyrics and vocals pretty quickly in the studio with David Garza bouncing lines back and forth. The idea centers around the void left by the market crash and what became of the houses left vacant. We wanted to capture some of that anxiety and fear that must have surrounded those times and try to imagine how to cope." Today's video was directed by Kris Pierce and you can watch it below.

Sparta has previously announced spring tour dates in support of Trust The River and continuing their concept of playing small clubs for multiple nights, they are heading to Austin on May 8 to play a 3 night stand in the small room at Mohawk, one of their favorite clubs in one of their favorite cities. Emily Davis & The Murder Police and Crystal Rippers will be the support on those shows. Sparta will also play Los Angeles on April 24 and 2 nights in New York City April 29 and 30. All dates are listed below.

Trust The River is available for preorder and it marks Sparta's first new album since 2006's Threes. The band have also released the single "Believe" which Brooklyn Vegan called a "promising taste" of the album.

When it comes to his long and fruitful career in music, Jim Ward is not guided by vanity or money or some grand narrative in which he's the central player. It's all about the song, the melody, the lyric. So in late-2017, when he began making heavier, more riff-laden music, he rang his Sparta bandmate of more than 20 years, bassist Matt Miller, and began work on Trust The River.

Of their absence Ward notes, "I've made a real point to never break up a band, mostly because if you look at my history it's filled with on-and-off-again projects. As much as I can control it, I don't want there to be permanence."

Making the album was a multi-month songwriting process that culminated in some of the most inspired recording sessions of his career, with help from Miller, drummer Cully Symington, and guitarist Gabriel Gonzalez. Also joining them was Austin-based musician-producer, David Garza.

Beyond Sparta, Ward has performed in various bands and under several monikers over his long and winding career- from the iconic post-hardcore band At The Drive-In, to a slew of solo albums and, recently, his alt-country project, Sleepercar.

Having been a member of heavy bands but also showcasing his more melancholic side via his solo work, Ward says the new Sparta album feels like the logical meeting point of his influences. "Naturally it's coming to this unity," he says. "Those two worlds have always been on a path towards unity. And I knew in my heart that it was coming."

SPARTA U.S. TOUR DATES

4/23 - San Francisco CA @ Bottom of the Hill

4/24 - Los Angeles CA @ Troubadour

4/25- San Diego CA @ Soda Bar

4/29 - New York NY @ Mercury Lounge

4/30- New York NY @ Mercury Lounge

5/1 - Philadelphia PA @ Boot & Saddle

5/2 - Philadelphia PA @ Boot & Saddle

5/3 - Somerville MA @ ONCE Ballroom

5/8 - Austin, TX @ Mohawk (w/ Emily Davis & The Murder Police and Crystal Rippers)

5/9 - Austin, TX @ Mohawk (w/ Emily Davis & The Murder Police and Crystal Rippers)

5/10 - Austin, TX @ Mohawk (w/ Emily Davis & The Murder Police and Crystal Rippers)

TRUST THE RIVER TRACKLIST

1) Class Blue

2) Cat Scream

3) Turquoise Dream

4) Spirit Away

5) Believe

6) Graveyard Luck

7) Dead End Signs

8) Miracle

9) Empty Houses

10) No One Can Be Nowhere

Photo Credit: Jen Vesp

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