(label)
11 March 2013 (released)
07 March 2013
The Charlotte-based band return with another yet another hard-rocking non-stopping album and the perfect follow up to 2012’s ‘Alive’ which announced GUAS’s sound and style to the world. Sparkleton shows that they haven’t lost any of their...sparkle...since the last time they left us and reveals a distinct and exciting evolution.
We never wanted the band to become a cheesy commercialised quasi-representation of their former selves, but the band’s attention to detail has heightened and all seems vastly more refined. Unlike ‘Alive’ – which I likened to being the product of a garage band - the production has those studio enhancements that make great bands unstoppable whilst never losing the basic rawness the band represents through their creativity. Sparkleton receives synthetic treatments that add unearthly-sounding dynamics to the guitars and instruments...something you'd probably expect from a band infatuated with comic book heroism.
GUAS continue to offer some of the most unforgettable riffs and irrepressible changeovers of any independent act around at the moment. Typically, you’re never quite sure where each song in Sparkleton will take you meaning each song is highly volatile and alternative in its approach. You find yourself thrown through a loop of unforeseen highs and lows in many of the tracks; you sometimes get heavy metal transforming into a soft ballad on a single cue as well as other incongruous conversions throughout. Because of this, the album has a cosmopolitan appeal that caters to many different types of rock fans or fans who just like a bit of everything squished into 3 minute compositions.
Fittingly, the titular track 'Sparkleton' is the crowning jewel in the album as an anthemic serenade to how music affects emotion through the medium. It’s upbeat and uplifting, best setting the tone for where the band wanted to take this EP. Sparkleton is a great album to listen to with each song striving to better the last.
