Former At the Drive-In guitarist Jim Ward and his long-running rock project Sparta are cratering back into our ear canals this spring. The El Paso, Texas, trio have announced that a new album called Cut a Silhouette is on the way, and they partnered up with My Chemical Romance and L.S. Dunes member Frank Iero to deliver lead single “Crater.”
The band’s tempo-jolted post-hardcore waltz — which is being premiered through Revolver — lunges towards galaxy-spiraling guitar noise, phosphorescent waves of bass fuzz and Ward’s yearningly, scratchily melodic vocal presence (“We made our house on this land”) — up until it dips into an eerily moody, octave-coursing bridge.
“This is a love record,” Ward explains of the overall tone of the impending LP, their first since a self-titled release from 2022. “I want it to leave an impression, and at this point in my career, that’s what I yearn for. I’m working so hard to make something meaningful to me, and I really want people to get a chance to feel it as well.”
While “Crater” co-writer Iero didn’t perform on the track, the MCR member had a good hand in helping put together Cut a Silhouette with Sparta behind the scenes, having likewise assisted with the record’s “Mouthbreather.”
“I’ve been a fan of Jim Ward’s songwriting and guitar playing for more than half my life,” Iero says of the connection. “I started by going to see At the Drive-In play at Masonic lodges and VFW halls in my teens, to booking an opening spot with MCR on an ill-fated show opening for Sparta at the Birch Hill Nightclub in NJ in my 20s — this show was cancelled day of due to an exploding frozen pipe and no one played. Cut to now being asked to write some songs with him for the newest Sparta record in my 40s…”
Cut a Silhouette was recorded over a weeklong stint at Baltimore, Maryland’s Magpie Cage Recording Studio with producer/engineer and Jawbox founder J. Robbins, who did perform on the LP. “When I was 15, he was the center of my musical world,” Ward adds, “so who better for me to want to impress than my literal hero?”
The new album also features contributions from Jawbox and War on Women member Brooks Harlan, Chicano Batman guitarist Carlos Arévalo and more.
Cut a Silhouette is due out May 29th via Equal Vision Records/Dine Alone. You can pre-order and pre-save the release over here; a Revolver-exclusive “White & Lilac Starburst w/ Black Splatter” vinyl variant is available for purchase from our shop.
Cut a Silhouette tracklisting:
Split Lip
Crater
Mouthbreather
Daydream
See You Soon
Everything You Say
Without Your Hands
Midnights
Mystery Of Missing
Glimmer
Sparta tour dates 2026:
5/3 El Paso, TX – San Jacinto Plaza (Sol Summit Festival)
6/5 Denver, CO – Ogden Theater *
6/6 Salt Lake City, UT – The Grand Theatre *
6/7 Boise, ID – Knitting Factory *
6/9 Seattle, WA – Showbox *
6/10 Portland, OR – Roseland Theater *
6/12 San Francisco, CA – The Fillmore *
6/13 Los Angeles, CA – The Belasco *
6/14 Santa Ana, CA – The Observatory *
6/16 San Diego, CA – The Observatory North Park *
6/17 Phoenix, AZ – The Van Buren *
8/14 Rio de Janeiro, BR – Casa da Glória
8/15 São Paulo, BR – Burning House
8/16 Buenos Aires, AR – Club Cultural Bula
8/18 Santiago, CL – Club Ambar
8/19 Lima, PE – Yield Rock
8/21 San José, CR – Amon Solar
8/22 Mexico City, MX – Hendrix Bar
9/9 Austin, TX – Moody Amphitheater ^
9/10 Irving, TX – The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory ^
* with the Toadies
^ with Jimmy Eat World