originally published: 04/03/2026
Photo by John Carluccio
Equal Vision Records and Dine Alone Records have announced the Friday, May 29, 2026 release of Cut A Silhouette, the forthcoming album from the celebrated El Paso, TX-based alt-rock band, Sparta.
Produced, engineered and recorded in seven days at Magpie Cage Recording Studio by the iconic J. Robbins, Cut A Silhouette is a collision of past and present. It builds off Sparta’s legacy but equally continues the evolution of a band that has never rested on its laurels. Written in hotel rooms, practice spaces, studios and soundchecks over the course of a year, Cut A Silhouette reveals frontman Jim Ward’s rediscovery of his love for music.
“This is a love record,” Ward happily declares. “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.”
The album’s first single is “Crater,” a song co-written with Frank Iero (My Chemical Romance, L.S. Dunes).
Additionally, Sparta will be making a number of appearances over the summer behind Cut A Silhouette, performing headline shows in Latin America, appearing at Sol Summit Festival in El Paso, TX on Sunday, May 3, and supporting Jimmy Eat World and The Toadies separately in select markets across the U.S. Tickets for all shows are on sale now via the band’s website, and a full listing of dates can be found below.
It all started with John Candy. Some 31 years after the comedian’s death, Jim Ward was watching a documentary about him, and in it Macaulay Culkin — who had starred in a number of films with the late actor — said something that really stuck with the musician. So much so, in fact, that, after months of pondering and overthinking what Sparta’s sixth full-length album would be named, Ward decided that those very words — “cut a silhouette” — should be the title.
“He said that when he met John Candy, he just entered your brain and cut a silhouette,” says Ward. “Like, he just left an impression is the way I see it. And when I heard him say that, I was like ‘Oh! That’s what I want this record to be.’ I want it to leave an impression.”
Helmed by the legendary J. Robbins, Cut A Silhouette begins with the frantic, impassioned rush of “Split Lip” before charging into the urgent insistence of “Crater”. The latter song, along with “Mouthbreather”, which immediately follows it, were both written with Frank Iero, though the My Chemical Romance guitarist doesn’t play on them. “See You Soon”, a gorgeous, lilting explosion of slow-motion power-pop, was co-written with Kemble Walters (Chevelle, Juliette And The Licks). He does play on that song, as does Adrian Borgeois, who adds some tender piano to the melancholy equation. J. Robbins also features on a number of the songs, as does Brooks Harlan, who plays in Jawbox with Robbins, as well as in War On Women, while Carlos Arévalo from Chicano Batman plays guitar on the hopeful fragility of “Midnights”.
The result is pure, unadulterated Sparta. These days completed by bassist Matt Miller and drummer Neil Hennessy, the band have made a record that’s a culmination of the perfectly imperfect chemistry that flows between the three of them. The only thing on this record that shines as much as that chemistry between the trio is the community spirit that helped create it.
While you might expect 2022’s self-titled album to have been the one to bring Sparta home — after all, self-titled records are often made with that intention — that’s actually the role Ward has given Cut A Silhouette. But he admits that the previous record — one he says felt like it was made from disparate parts being brought together — was a necessary process to go through for this one to exist.
“This feels like we're a fucking band again,” Ward says. “All three of us are in a room, we're all writing together, we're listening to each other; this is now a constructive creative process, and it's now the end of this era. Like, I made it through.”
You can pre-save, pre-add and pre-order the upcoming album HERE.
UPCOMING TOUR DATES
MAY
03 — El Paso, TX — San Jacinto Plaza (Sol Summit Festival)
JUNE
05 — Denver, CO — Ogden Theater *
06 — Salt Lake City, UT — The Grand Theatre *
07 — Boise, ID — Knitting Factory *
09 — Seattle, WA — Showbox *
10 — Portland, OR — Roseland Theater *
12 — San Francisco, CA — The Fillmore *
13 — Los Angeles, CA — The Belasco *
14 — Santa Ana, CA — The Observatory *
16 — San Diego, CA — The Observatory North Park *
17 — Phoenix, AZ — The Van Buren *
AUGUST
14 — Rio de Janeiro, BR — Casa da Glória #
15 — São Paulo, BR — Burning House #
16 — Buenos Aires, AR — Club Cultural Bula #
18 — Santiago, CL — Club Ambar #
19 — Lima, PE — Yield Rock #
21 — San José, CR — Amon Solar #
22 — Mexico City, MX — Hendrix Bar #
SEPTEMBER
09 — Austin, TX — Moody Amphitheater ^
10 — Irving, TX — The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory ^
* — supporting The Toadies
# — headline show
^ — supporting Jimmy Eat World
COLUMNS
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