Album Review: I, Said the Sparrow - 'Deathpop'

8 December 2013 | 11:54 pm | Staff Writer
Originally Appeared In

A band with great potential but weaker tracks are letting them down.

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Perth pop punk outfit, I, Said the Sparrow, have released a hit and miss album. However, the prevailing thought still suggests 'Deathpop' shows enough promise.

Potential can be a good thing and sometimes put a bit of paper over those cracks. One of the stronger tracks, ‘043HELLO’, shows the fusion of pop with rock well. While, ‘Sweet Tooth’ takes this further and explores a heavier rock sound. 

The range is pretty steady here and the style becomes consistent. It allows listeners to relate to the music.
Porcelain Rabbit’, along with ‘December’, are similar highlights for ‘Deathpop’. ‘The overall tone is rock laced with pop punk.

I’m a Villain and I’m Online’ moves towards a more disco pop sound, but does not stick to that, breaking out of it at times to explore heavier punk elements.

However, despite some solid moments, 'Deathpop' has some average moments on it too. ‘Papercup’ and ‘Lust, Love and Other Devils’, which is rather ordinary apart from some interesting guitar work towards the end, are obvious culprits. ‘A Full Step Down, Like Your Morals’ falls into this trap as well. Although the song features some interesting riffs, the chorus repetition is a little bit overdone.

It's a mixed bag here. Both good and bad is present. Overall, 'Deathpop' is satisfactory. Let's see if the band can iron out the rest going forward.

‘Deathpop’, when it comes down to it, is a pretty average pop punk album. Many of its stronger points, however, are clearly stronger points, showing that I, Said the Sparrow do have great potential but they just haven’t gotten it right yet.

1. Kiss and Pretend

2. 043HELLO

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3. December

4. Papercup

5. Lust, Love and Other Devils

6. I'm A Villain and I'm Online

7. Sweet Tooth

8. A Full Step Down, Like Your Morals

9. Porcelain Rabbit

10. One Long Hour