It all started with John Candy. Some 31 years after the comedian’s death, Jim Ward was watching a documentary about him, and in it Macaulay Culkin — who had starred in a number of films with the late actor — said something that really stuck with the musician. So much so, in fact, that, after months of pondering and overthinking what Sparta’s sixth full-length album would be named, Ward decided that those very words—“cut a silhouette”—should be the title. 

“He said that when he met John Candy, he just entered your brain and cut a silhouette,” says Ward. “Like, he just left an impression is the way I see it. And when I heard him say that, I was like ‘Oh! That’s what I want this record to be.’ I want it to leave an impression.”

Helmed by the legendary J. Robbins, Cut A Silhouette begins with the frantic, impassioned rush of “Split Lip” before charging into the urgent insistence of “Crater”. The latter song, along with “Mouthbreather”, which immediately follows it, were both written with Frank Iero, though the My Chemical Romance guitarist doesn’t play on them. “See You Soon”, a gorgeous, lilting explosion of slow-motion power-pop, was co-written with Kemble Walters (Chevelle, Juliette And The Licks). He does play on that song, as does Adrian Borgeois, who adds some tender piano to the melancholy equation. J. Robbins also features on a number of the songs, as does Brooks Harlan, who plays in Jawbox with Robbins, as well as in War On Women, while Carlos Arévalo from Chicano Batman plays guitar on the hopeful fragility of “Midnights”.

The result is pure, unadulterated Sparta. These days completed by bassist Matt Miller and drummer Neil Hennessey, the band have made a record that’s a culmination of the perfectly imperfect chemistry that flows between the three of them. The only thing on this record that shines as much as that chemistry between the trio is the community spirit that helped create it.

While you might expect 2022’s self-titled album to have been the one to bring Sparta home — after all, self-titled records are often made with that intention — that’s actually the role Ward has given Cut A Silhouette. But he admits that the previous record — one he says felt like it was made from disparate parts being brought together — was a necessary process to go through for this one to exist. “This feels like we're a fucking band again,” Ward says. “All three of us are in a room, we're all writing together, we're listening to each other; this is now a constructive creative process, and it's now the end of this era. Like, I made it through.”

Their new album, Cut A Silhouette will be available Friday 29 May via Equal Vision/Civilians. "Crater" is out now and streaming everywhere via Equal Visions/Civilians.

For more information, visit https://www.civilians.co/