I Am David Sparkle - This Is The New

Our review
Customer reviews
Press release

4...according to our Brett on Thu 19 Jun, 2008.

Now this is an interesting little piece, I say as I lightly stroke my beard and adjust my monocle. It comes all the way from Singapore and the KittyWu label and it's called 'This is the New' and the artist is I am David Sparkle. The music is very nice, it's post-rock in a fairly Mogwai circa 'Come On Die Young' vein, nothing terribly new but when it's done this well it's easy to excuse, the second track in particular really hits the spot with its piano-led melancholy. They branch out a little into electronic beats on track three then close the way they begun, with a track full of quiet/loud dynamics. What's really unique about this whole package is, well.. The package. It comes in a very novel book kind of thing with a hand-stitched spine, it's tough to describe but the thick pages are folded over before they're stitched and have artwork (nice minimal computer-generated line compositions) on both sides, with one side hidden inside the fold. The CD has to be cut out of one of the folds too, this didn't go too well in the office but I'm sure most of you are going to be a tad less cack-handed with it. It's a lovely object, that's for sure.

TRACK LIST
1. The Way of The Universe
2. Do You Cry While You Sleep?
3. Jaded Afghan
4. There Is No Time for Love, Only Chaos
5. If I Never Come Back
6. Dance of Death
7. All There Is To It (Unlisted Track)

Currently writing and performing music as a quartet, its members have all been long established within Singapore’s
independent music scene, with individual involvement in indie, hardcore, punk, metal and electronic sounds over the
last 15 years. Birthed in 2001 as an experimental and improvisational band, I Am David Sparkle writes instrumental
music that it believes honestly conveys its own emotions and meanings as a group. The band makes music that is
the soundtrack to their own lives, with hopes of the listener making its music theirs as well.
“Play this in an empty room, let the sounds soothe and calm you before making your head explode.”
- Music Reviewer, Junk Magazine, Malaysia
Exemplifying and amplifying the thoughts of this particular review, ‘This Is The New’ is an urgent return by Singaporean instrumental outfit I Am David Sparkle.
This second release by the band explores and answers the new spirit felt within while expanding on the sonic territory that was hinted at with their debut release
‘Apocalypse of Your Heart’ EP.
Eschewing vocals and instead opting for textured and dynamic instrumentation, ‘This Is The New’ spreads over 7 tracks of pressing rhythms, atmospheric
moments and emotional depths achieved through the matured artistry of their instruments. The absence of words in the music does not mean that they
have lost their meaning – but rather they are to be imagined by the listener.
The tracks were written as musical vignettes inspired by the musings over love, life and beauty: where thematic elements of true love (The Way of The
Universe); desire (Do You Cry While You Sleep? / Jaded Afghan); the power of and sensitivity to disorder (There’s No Time for Love, Only Chaos); absence
and solitude (If I Never Come Back); and finality (Dance of Death / All There Is To It) were explored as sonic canvases. As a collection of songs however,
‘This Is The New’ represents the coming of a new age – one of rebirth and renewal felt – which is exactly what I Am David Sparkle experienced through
the writing and recording of this album.
Coupled with a gorgeous and detailed packaging concept with messages hidden in between folds and and a intimate personal experience to get to the
music inside, ‘This Is The New’ is a labour of love for both the band and the listener it engages.
This is I Am David Sparkle’s first release with KittyWu Records.