Review: SPARTA + HOUSEPLANTS

16 May

Written by: Tom Wilson
Photos by: Rashid AlKamraikhi >> SEE PHOTOS
Thursday 16th May 2024

The Triffid - Brisbane, QLD
This. Is. SPARTA!

The Triffid’s famously strong air conditioning is in full force tonight, but luckily we’ve got HOUSEPLANTS taking to the stage to warm us up. Fortunately, the band are a lot livelier than their name might suggest. A supremely talented local four-piece, they launch into a set of irresistible grooves and psychedelic guitar freakouts. The band are having a brilliant time, and frankly so are we, as their singer hammers on a vocoder and even busts out a Talkbox for a lively cover of DAFT PUNK’s Robot Rock. HOUSEPLANTS: part psych rock, part shoegaze, all awesome.

In our interview five months ago, Jim Ward described this tour as a “victory lap”, considering how much he was trying to destroy himself in 2002 when this album first came out. He also, by his own admission, had absolutely no idea how to be a frontman. Now, more than two decades later, he’s a lot better, even though he’s still not entirely comfortable with being a frontman in the first place. This might be why SPARTA emerge onstage tonight with such little fanfare you’d think they were roadies. A nod is exchanged between them, the drummer is bathed in a spotlight, and he starts bashing out the off-kilter march that opens ‘Cut Your Ribbon’. Ward’s jangling chords dance playfully back and forth, before he screams “WAKE UP” and the band jolts into action.

‘Air’ and ‘Mye’ are poetic slabs of urgent rock, and tonight Matt Miller’s bass chops are rivalled for greatness only by his hair. Seriously, it’s goddamn glorious – a majestic work of art that would make Elvis proud. Being as used to circle pits and double-kick drumming as I am, SPARTA are easily one of the most stripped-back bands I’ve seen. There is a fantastic use of restraint and space, letting each note breathe. Using only ten strings, some drums and a few pedals, SPARTA create an entrancing mood. Such is their focus on the music that the entire Wiretap Scars album is played before Jim says a word to the audience. He thanks us for coming out, and asks how many American bands stand on this stage and complain about being jetlagged. Not SPARTA, he’s quick to point out. They’re from Texas, and they’re too tough for jetlag.

Starting their national tour in Brisbane, he talks about how much Australia has meant to him over the years, before launching into a short set of SPARTA favourites that are not, he points out, to be considered an encore. There will be no rock ‘n’ roll peek-a-boo tonight, as the whole concept is just a bit awkward, so he announces their final song and launches into ‘Atlas’. As it draws to a close, he plucks his monitors out of his ear, steps away from the microphone, and starts singing the last notes acapella, inviting us to join him. We do, and it’s glorious. The perfect end to a thoroughly pleasant evening.