Sparta is the fifth Sparta record overall and second one since Jim Ward revitalized the band in 2020 after a 13-year break. The record features a number of special guests, including performances by Thursday’s Geoff Rickly, Kayleigh Goldsworthy, Angelica Garcia, and more.

As the band’s Jim Ward explains, “This new record is a starting point for the band, with absolute love and respect for the last 20 years - it was time to scrap some things, release some baggage and forge a new path. Matt and I have a clear vision for the future and it starts now. We recorded a Sparta record with an ensemble of friends, new and old alike, and couldn’t be happier - there is so much love on this thing and I can’t wait for people to hear it.”

When it comes to his long and fruitful career in music, Jim Ward has no ulterior motives. He’s not guided by vanity or money or some grand narrative in which he’s the central player. It’s all about the song, the melody, the lyric. It’s all he needs to tell him where he’s headed. It’s Ward’s commitment to following the song’s muse, full stop, that’s led him to this point.

“I’ve always been a fan of listening to what the song wants to do and not forcing it,” Ward says of his embarking on the journey of writing and recording a new Sparta album. “I’ve never sat down and said, “I’m going to write this kind of song.” Or listened to what was popular to guide me. I’ve never had that inclination. Never.”

It’s true: while he’s performed in various bands and under several monikers over his long and winding career - from the iconic post-hardcore band At The Drive-In, to a slew of solo titles under his own name, not to mention his alt-country project Sleepercar - Ward is the first to admit that Sparta has never been finished.

“I’ve made a real point to never break up a band,” Ward says when asked if Sparta had ever been on hiatus or even dissolved completely over the years. “I’ve never had a press release say, “We’re done.” Mostly because if you look at my history it’s filled with on-and-off-again projects. It’s filled with tragedies and reunions and tragedies again. As much as I can control it, I don’t want there to be permanence. So here we are.”

Being here right now means sitting with a monumental new album courtesy of one of rock’s most poignant storytellers. “All the other stuff - fame and fortune - is nothing but a bummer,” Ward says. “It doesn’t do any good for me. And the way I see it, life is way too short to be unhappy.”