Sparrows - Sound In The Signals Interview

I recently had the chance to interview Sparrows. Check out the full interview after the jump. Their new album can be pre-ordered: HERE.

For those who aren't familiar with your band can you tell me how you guys started the band and what got you interested in making music?

Devlin Morton (guitar and vocals): Sparrows as a band started over 3 years ago, however the current lineup has been in place for about a year and half. Dan originally had a different group of members, then seemed to conveniently pick up the rest of us as old bands were ending. For me personally, I’d say going to shows and watching other bands pushed me into making music. I envied the thought of playing in front of an audience, and so starting up a band and writing seemed like the logical choice. I also love traveling, so being in touring band is pretty much a win-win scenario.

Your new album is titled Cold Ground. How did the music influence what the album would be titled?

 The music and lyrical content on Cold Ground are generally a bit dark and serious in nature. As songwriters, we don’t tend to write anything overly upbeat or joyful, and we wanted an album title that would portray the same feeling that we felt the songs represented.

The artwork is really interesting looking and definitely eye catching. How did you guys come up with the artwork for the album and what made you decide to use this particular artwork for the album?

The aim was to try and find a visual representation of the overall tone of the record. That's not to say that this record is a concept record or anything like that. We just really wanted images that linked to the name, but could be interpreted in many ways, based on how the listener sees it. The artwork itself was actually shot by Dan (guitarist and singer), after we got back from tour in March.

When you guys went into to record this album what do you think was your mission statement as a group with this album. What was the number one thing you thought was most important to accomplish with these songs?

 With this album, one of the more important things from the onset was finding something that was a balance between everybody’s personal styles, yet still coming out with a product that fit Sparrows and didn’t stray too far. Or for that matter something that wasn’t a step forward from previous releases. This was the first release with the current lineup, and that had a significant impact on the writing process. We were also looking to write songs that would fit into a live setting. I think one of our biggest strengths in this band is a high-energy live show, and we wanted to come out with songs that fit that feeling and gave us a chance to showcase that energy live. It’s tough to go all-out with songs that don’t match the intensity.

You decided to work with Broken Heart Records to press the vinyl version of the album. What made you decide to work with Broken Heart and how important is to you guys as a band to make sure your album is available on vinyl?

 We put in a lot of work into this record, and we went with Broken Heart Records because we wanted to work somebody who we felt was going to put everything they could into it as well. It’s been very nice dealing with a label we can deal with on a more personal level; being able to talk to them easily about what all is going on is very comforting. It’s also amazing working with people who genuinely seem to care about the album and our music. As far as vinyl goes, we love the idea of having a physical aspect to our music. Vinyl really allows you to get creative with just about everything. From the layout to the labels to the colour of the vinyl itself. It gives you a chance to make a presentation of the record as you see it. As great as the digital age has been for bands, part of the experience of buying and listening to a record is the record itself.

If you had to pick one song of this new album for people to hear that maybe haven't heard your band. What song would you pick and why?

 It’s a tough choice, but I’d have to lean towards Sever Your Roots. It’s probably our heaviest song overall on the record, but packs a bit of everything. It’s got a nice big chorus, some really driving sections, a little bit of soft, and a huge ending that really fits us. We like to write a lot of big open parts and that’s definitely one of the better ones. 

I guess that about wraps it up. Thanks for taking the time to answer the questions. Do you have anything else you'd like to add?
We'd just like to thank everyone for taking the time to check us out. Hopefully you like what you've heard!