Southern California band next single off upcoming sophomore album, ‘Plagued By The Human Condition’, out soon on New Age Records.

The LP finds the band once again collaborating with friend Fred Armisen, who plays drums on a cover of ‘Never Say Never’ by ’90s cult favorite That Dog. ‘In Pursuit Of’ turns an instantly memorable heartland rock riff into a devastatingly sung admission of regret and loss. Singer Steve Jennings says, “Matters of the heart are always risky. Song is about knowing those risks and deciding to chase the love your heart wants anyway… even though it might break in the end”. They say you have your entire life to write your first record, and only months to complete your second. But for Spark Of Life, the malleable post-hardcore band that formed in the suburbs of Los Angeles almost 25 years ago, this life has been anything but predictable. The songs from ‘Plagued By The Human Condition’ are raw, anthemic, and painful all in the same instance. They also miraculously sound like a band being reborn. This is certainly not the way that Jennings, Piscitello and their bandmates imagined this particular group’s history—or hell, even their own personal lives—would have turned out when they started playing in a suburban So Cal garage all those years ago. But these days, you will also find no one more grateful to see their creative spark rekindled than the five of them. In the end, it’s not how the songs on LP sound as much as the emotional weight that they carry that shows the real progression Spark Of Life has gone through since its humble beginnings a quarter century ago. The lens that Jennings’ lyrics are so often put through on the album—all adult pain and middle-aged reflection—display just how much hardcore can hit later in one’s life. At the album’s absolute crest, Jennings exhales a series of revelations in the face of a devastating separation. “I lost it all” he screams, not sounding like he is pointing a finger but actually wiping a tear from his eye. “But I won’t give up”. On this record the members of band, particularly Piscitello, who has always had an ability to turn a diverse array of influences into his own, push the group’s sonic boundaries even further—as evidenced by the searing ‘Note To Self’ which starts with a tender, twinkling guitar line before it absolutely explodes. Meanwhile, ‘In Pursuit Of’ turns an instantly memorable heartland rock riff into a devastatingly sung admission of regret and loss. “Will I break you down” Jennings asks over the song’s increasingly catchy intro, sincerity dripping from his voice, “or will I just break down?”.

Upcoming shows (with Loved Up):

1/22 – The Rainbow Bar – Hollywood, CA
1/23 – The Hive – Flagstaff, AZ
1/24 – Yucca Tap Room – Tempe, AZ
1/25 – Groundworks – Tucson, AZ
1/26 – Till Two Club – San Diego, CA

Photo Credit: Kody Piscitello