Review Summary: They may break like China, yet Sparkadia are as cohesive as superglue
Alexander Burnett is a curious creature indeed. After the relative success of Sparkadia’s debut album,
Postcards in 2008; Sparkadia decided that after extensive touring, all of the band members decided to part ways due to personal reasons... Except for Burnett, and with that, he would continue to carry the band’s name to release a second album, yet under the guise of a solo artist.
The Great Impression shows great maturity in ‘the bands’ sound and lyricism, as the musical interplay is more deftly layered, dreamy and intertwining with Burnett’s Chris Martin-esque vocals, which really drives the
The Great Impressionist all the way home to being a fantastic ‘indie/pop’ album.
The Great Impression is basically carried by the two major singles of the album, as the cohesive nature of the album seems to really build into each of ‘China’ and ‘Talking Like I’m Falling Down Stairs’, which have both reached great success on the Australian charts. Yet, ‘Love Less Love’ is definitely the highlight tune of the album, building through dreamy synth chords and the whimsical vocals of Burnett, which seem to become stronger and stronger through each track. While, ‘Ghost’ and the all important title track seem to be equally hypnotic, flying through orchestral segments, children choirs and gently strummed guitar to ease you through, giving the album a diverse range of simple to hectic sounding sweetness.
The Great Impression is an album that is trying to encapsulate the dreaming nature of the listener, and this is where the album slightly falters. It’s trying too hard to be the Inception of the music scene. Songs like ‘Fade from View’ and ‘Still Can’t Make Up My Mind’ exemplify this, as their gentle synth melodies and grungy guitar, it is almost too dreamy to be real, especially when Burnett’s vocals are layered until the cows come home throughout the choruses. Though,
The Great Impressionist, still hits its mark lyrically sending strong messages about love, hate and all that jazz which is exactly what you expect from a Sparkadia record:
“
When she worked out where my weakness lay
She wouldn't stop until I gave way
Every time that she goes there she know there's so much I can take
Before I break”
The Great Impression is definitely the landmark album that Burnett was chasing, even if he is releasing it under the Sparkadia name.
The Great Impression twist and turns through mystically dynamic stories that are encrusted with catchy hooks, beautiful vocals, endearing instrumentation and most importantly, heavy replay value making
The Great Impression exactly what it wanted it to be; popular.
