Sparta – Cut A Silhouette
Release Date: 29th May 2026
Label: Rude Records
Sparta, a band initially born from the break up of At the Drive-In, have spent the last 20 or so years carving their own, slightly restrained path. Now, with their sixth studio album Cut A Silhouette, the real question is are they still continuing down said path or are they trying something new?
The album opens with the loud and fast ‘Split Lip’ which very much sets some of the tone going forward. It has a punky attitude to it that wouldn’t feel out of place amongst a Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater soundtrack and does the job well without bringing any groundbreaking ideas to the table. However, it is really from the second track, ‘Crater’ onwards where Sparta mixes things up for the better. The pummeling drums and the continuously revving riff brings that post-hardcore, At the Drive-In-esque intensity that grabs your attention instantly and holds it.
From a songwriting perspective, nothing here is particularly unique or new. It very much stays in a lane and does that as well as it can. The album maintains a consistently bouncy flow that keeps things varied without veering too far off the beaten track. For instance, ‘See You Soon’ slows things down with this almost indie rock inspired chord progression that somehow feels jarring yet appropriate at the same time. ‘Everything You Say’ on the other hand is this raucous and emotionally driven monster of a track that sounds purpose built for a stadium setting.
Compared to previous Sparta albums, this album sounds like a natural progression of everything they’ve done before whilst clearly taking notes from contemporaries within the same genres. It’s not to say they’re outright copying or improving on ideas from those other bands, but the threads are noticeable nonetheless and for the most part, Sparta makes those styles work in their favour.
The back half of the tracklist is where a lot of these comparisons to other artists can be found, whether its U2 on ‘Midnights’ and ‘Mystery of Missing’ or even going as far as Coldplay with the closer ‘Glimmer’ with its spacey guitars and anthemic choruses. These moments never take away from the more punchier offerings but can take some getting used to if you’re not used to the band’s mix of styles or expecting wall to wall noise and aggression.
Cut A Silhouette doesn’t reinvent the wheel by any means, but when it works it works. The end result is a decent selection of tracks that blend post-hardcore intensity with palatable alt-rock sensibilities.
Words by Aaron Gillingham