| Sparkadia Release Debut Album Postcards On July 14th 08, On Ark Recordings |
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On
July 14th Sparkadia will be releasing their debut album “Postcards”
which is quite possibly the most replete and accomplished debut you'll
hear this year. Just released in Australia it is currently No.8 in the
iTunes chart. “This Sydney quartet is unsurprisingly finding favour in the UK with their retro-sounding guitar pop - think Echo and the Bunnymen with a dash of New Romantic" Sydney Daily Telegraph “‘Too Much To Do’ – A fresh, zingy blast of uplifting guitar pop” Daily Star “there’s something very ‘80s about Sparkadia…..it’s more to do with the innocence and guilelessness of frontman Alex Burnett’s lyrics. There’s something very old-school about his simple evocations of love and loss” Q4 Music “Sydney four piece Sparkadia certainly boast a well buffed pop sheen. But radio-friendly new single ‘Too Much To Do’, and significantly weightier fare like ‘The Plague’, marks them more as makeweights. Charlie Ivens, The Fly The band’s first single was the Guardian Guide single of the week and led Radio 1’s Zane to declare them “one of the breakthrough acts of 2008.” Subsequent single “Too Much To Do” was B listed by Radio 2, played by everyone from Colin Murray and Terry Wogan, and earned accolades from Mojo, Q4 Music and Guardian.co.uk. Whilst the band have been touring with Vampire Weekend, Elbow, Pet Shop Boys and Jimmy Eat World, the album’s artwork was confusing the good folks in London’s Shepherd’s Bush when it’s giant lion’s head was erected on the side of a building. Formed by childhood friends, 25 year olds Alex Burnett (vocals, guitar) and Dave Hall, (drums) in 2004, the Sydney four-piece became a reality with the addition of Nick Rabone (bass) and Tiffany Preece (keyboards, guitar, vocals, and most recent addition to the band.) Tiffany gave up a promising acting career to join the band and a week later she found herself playing to 2,000 people in Belgium!. Together, they write modern pop songs that explode and shimmer and offer up a dozen snapshots of life that meld bittersweet lyrics and floating melodies with a sunny spin on heartbreak. From the anthemic singles 'Too Much To Do' and 'Morning Light', to soon-to-be classics, 'Jealousy' and 'Connected', it's a collection of songs that have a timeless quality. "Many of the songs on this album are postcards I wish I had sent, and others are ones I really wish I didn’t have to send," says Alex. Each track was written in a different room in a different city over the past four years, before being affixed with a stamp and sent to the renowned Miloco Studios in London, where producer extraordinaire Ben Hillier (Blur, Depeche Mode, Doves) applied his deft production hand to give the album an expansive, cinematic feel. "We wrote a long wish list of producers that we wanted to use. Ben was probably the first realistic option as the two above him, Martin Hannett and Phil Spector, were dead and in jail respectively," muses Alex. Signed to Ivy League Records in their native Australia, where they the album was “album of the week” on Triple J, the band are signed to Ark Recordings in the UK. Ark was set-up by Russell Warby, The Strokes and Foo Fighters' booking agent, and Jamie Davis, co-owner of Transcopic Records with Graham Coxon and is home to Magic Wands, Alberta Cross, and Tacks, the Boy Disaster. The band will be back in the UK in July to play the Wireless, Glastonbury, T in the Park, Oxygen and Z008 festivals, plus loads of club shows, meanwhile they are playing down under with Modest Mouse and Hot Hot Heat. Check out the band here: www.sparkadia.com or here: www.myspace.com/sparkadia or www.myspace.com/arkrecordings |
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