This week, we are willing you to be passive aggressive with the likes of Sparta. The band tends to sneak up behind you and give you a gentle shove in the ass just when you are starting to relax.

They are melodic but not to be confused with some radio emo band. I am referring of course to their earlier albums that former members of At The Drive-In and Engine Down surfaced. These albums were sleek and straightforward, straying only slightly from the American post punk scene. The guitars are stiff and anxious, a bit nervy but in the sense they know the audience is on edge as well. Jim Ward dares his listeners to sing along with the same intensity that he bellows, creating difficult enough lyrics that leave them on the outskirts of Death Cab For Cutie Society yet stranded just outside of Jawbox. You have to loosen that stick placement just a bit to accept these guys for falling in the middle of true rock and emo crap, they are settling a bit with their latest album.

Sparta is accessible to almost anyone with an iPod, but the fact that their shows continue to attract late 20 and early 30 year olds, howls good things. Teeny boppers are too jaded from Snow Patrol to familiarize themselves with original punk rockers, therefor keeping bands like Sparta under their radar. Think of them as a shinier version of At The Drive-In – refined and not original, but sometimes that’s ok by us.