Porcelain (Sparta album)

2004 studio album by Sparta

Porcelain

Studio album by

Sparta

Released| July 13, 2004
Recorded| October – December 2003 at Sunset Sound Studios in Los Angeles
December 2003 – January 2004 at Rosewood Studios in El Paso
Genre| Alternative rock, indie rock, post-hardcore
Length| 57:28
Label| Geffen
Producer| Mike Major
Sparta chronology
| Wiretap Scars
(2002)  | Porcelain
(2004)  | Live at La Zona Rosa 3/19/2004
(2004)

|
|

Porcelain is the second studio album by American post-hardcore band Sparta. It was released on July 13, 2004 by Geffen Records and peaked at number 60 on the Billboard 200. The first single released from the album was "Breaking the Broken."

## Critical reception

[edit]

Professional ratingsAggregate scores

Source| Rating
Metacritic| 62/100[1]
Review scores
Source| Rating
AllMusic| [2]
The Austin Chronicle| [3]
Pitchfork| 7.6/10[4]
Punknews.org| [5]
Rolling Stone| [6]
Sputnikmusic| 4.0/5.0[7]
Tiny Mix Tapes| [8]

Porcelain garnered a positive reception from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 62, based on 19 reviews.[1]

Johnny Loftus of AllMusic praised the album for maintaining Sparta's "caustic intellectualism" without compromising their musical integrity through "label-side meddling" or adhering to "a cliquey music-fan nation", highlighting "From Now to Never" for crystalizing the band's musicianship: "At nearly nine minutes, it renders each facet of Porcelain in perfect miniature, and emphasizes Sparta's stance as a group working faithfully within the system, but also staunchly and refreshingly outside of it."[2] Pitchfork contributor Brian Howe noted how the band's sound became "grandiose and questing, with scintillating, spacious atmospheres" throughout the record, praising the "complex and inventive" arrangements found on "While Oceana Sleeps" and "Lines in Sand", concluding that: "Porcelain is food for sheer bodily exaltation. It's an imperative and ornate exhortation to lay open your nerves and unabashedly, unapologetically feel."[4] Rolling Stone contributor Jenny Eliscu commended the band's "tight and powerful" musicianship on "While Oceana Sleeps" and "Hiss the Villain" but felt it was "rote emo-core, all predictable quiet-loud shifts and overwrought vocal melodies" that didn't elevate them above At the Drive-In, concluding: "Mostly, though, it's just kind of boring."[6] Darcie Stevens of The Austin Chronicle criticized the album for lacking the "ragged edges and complicated time changes" from Sparta's predecessor and instead contained lackluster artistry and "Dashboard Confessional lyrics."[3] A writer for Spin was critical of the band not evolving their Wiretap Scars sound to just "lazily tread" through a modern rock manual that elicits "sticker-on-the-case singles ("Breaking the Broken")" and ventures into "power-ballad turf ("Lines in Sand", "From Now to Never")".[9]

## Track listing

[edit]

All tracks are written by Sparta.

No.| Title| Length

|
|

1.| "Guns of Memorial Park"| 3:49
2.| "Hiss the Villain"| 3:27
3.| "While Oceana Sleeps"| 4:24
4.| "La Cerca"| 3:43
5.| "Breaking the Broken"| 3:47
6.| "Lines in Sand"| 6:02
7.| "End Moraine"| 4:26
8.| "Death in the Family"| 3:37
9.| "Syncope"| 1:19
10.| "Tensioning"| 5:59
11.| "Travel by Bloodline"| 3:06
12.| "P.O.M.E." (drum solo by Tony Hajjar)| 0:47
13.| "From Now to Never"| 8:39
14.| "Splinters"| 4:23

* According to Jim Ward, "P.O.M.E" stands for 'Paris Of the Middle East', referring to Beirut,[10] which is Hajjar's birthplace.

### Bonus tracks

[edit]

* "Farewell Ruins" (Japan/UK/iTunes bonus track) – 3:17
* "Bombs & Us" (Japan bonus track) – 3:33

## Personnel

[edit]

Credits adapted from the Porcelain liner notes.[11]

Sparta

* Jim Ward – guitar, vocals
* Paul Hinojos – guitar
* Matt Miller – bass
* Tony Hajjar – drums

Additional musicians

* Charlie Bisharat – violin
* Mario de Leon – violin
* Joel Derouin – violin
* Sara Parkins – violin
* Matt Funes – viola
* Dan Smith – cello
* Larry Corbett – cello
* Suzie Takayama – orchestration, string conductor
* Jessika Macias – French speaker on "From Now to Never"

Artwork

* Bill Scoville – graphic design, layout
* Jermaine Rogers – original swan illustration

Production

* Mike Major – producer
* Justin Leeah – ProTools engineer
* Ryan Castle – assistant engineer
* Andy Wallace – mixing (Soundtrack Studios)
* Steve Sisco – assistant mixing
* Mike Zinczenco – assistant mixing
* Tony Schloss – ProTools engineer
* Alan Yoshida – mastering (Ocean Way Mastering)
* Pat Sullivan – editing (Bernie Grundman Mastering)

|

## Charts

[edit]

Chart performance for Porcelain Chart (2004)  | Peak
position

|

Australian Albums (ARIA)[12] | 56
US Billboard 200[13] | 60

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b "Porcelain by Sparta". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on July 25, 2020. Retrieved February 12, 2022.
2. ^ a b Loftus, Johnny. "Porcelain - Sparta". AllMusic. Archived from the original on March 26, 2024. Retrieved August 8, 2011.
3. ^ a b Stevens, Darcie (August 6, 2004). "Sparta: Porcelain Album Review". The Austin Chronicle. Archived from the original on February 12, 2022. Retrieved February 12, 2022.
4. ^ a b Howe, Brian (August 4, 2004). "Sparta: Porcelain". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on April 12, 2019. Retrieved January 14, 2012.
5. ^ Anthony J.C. (July 13, 2004). "Sparta - Porcelain". Punknews.org. Archived from the original on February 7, 2024. Retrieved February 12, 2022.
6. ^ a b Eliscu, Jenny (July 12, 2004). "Sparta: Porcelain". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on December 14, 2006. Retrieved August 22, 2007.
7. ^ Damrod (April 13, 2005). "Sparta - Porcelain (album review 3)". Sputnikmusic. Archived from the original on March 26, 2024. Retrieved February 12, 2022.
8. ^ Wolfman. "Sparta - Porcelain". Tiny Mix Tapes. Archived from the original on February 12, 2022. Retrieved February 12, 2022.
9. ^ SPIN Staff (July 20, 2004). "Sparta, 'Porcelain' (Geffen)". Spin. Archived from the original on February 8, 2020. Retrieved February 12, 2022.
10. ^ Gross, Gabe (November 15, 2006). "Sparta - 11.15.2006 - Interview". AbsolutePunk. Archived from the original on July 16, 2012. Retrieved April 6, 2008.
11. ^ Porcelain (booklet). Sparta. Geffen. 2004. B000281802.`{{cite AV media notes}}`: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
12. ^ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 262.
13. ^ "Sparta Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved February 12, 2022.

* v
* t
* e

Sparta

* Jim Ward
* Tony Hajjar
* Matt Miller
* Keeley Davis

* Paul Hinojos
* Gabriel Gonzalez
* Erick Sanger

Studio albums|

* Wiretap Scars
* Porcelain
* Threes
* Trust the River
* Sparta

EPs|

* Austere

Live Albums|

* Live at La Zona Rosa 3.19.04

Singles|

* "Cut Your Ribbon"
* "Taking Back Control"

Related articles|

* At the Drive-In
* Engine Down
* The Mars Volta
* Sleepercar
* Denali
* Glös

Authority control databases |

* MusicBrainz release group

|

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