Sparkmarker - Products and Accessories

Sparkmarker were a great band from Vancouver who managed a very precise blend of NYC post hardcore crossed with DC post hardcore. They existed for the better part of the decade from 1990 - 1997 when they packed it in and moved on to other things. One thing that always struck me about Sparkmarker was the singers voice. It was and still is very unique in the realm of hardcore and punk. He sings, but he kind of yelps at the same time. I dont mean that as any negative aspect, yelping, in this case, works really well. The songs are rhythmic and more to the point than a band like Quicksand and heavier and more visceral than a band like Soulside who they kind of remind me of at times.

I first heard of Sparkmarker from the Land of Greed, World of Need comp from Trustkill Records. It was a compilation of bands covering the Embrace album song for song. And while lots of people froth over the mention of Embrace I never really liked them all that much, preferring instead to listen to these cover version, many of which are better than the originals. Current, Sparkmarker and Avail by far had the three best covers, followed closely by Beltaine, Groundwork and Lifetime and even Rancid had a great track. (In fact, if you use the useful little search field up on the top left, you can type in Land of Greed and the file is still linked up. I think it was the second post I did. Its worth having.)

Nonetheless, hearing the Sparkmarker track and being obsessed with Quicksand made me want to hear more and thus this band entered my life. Lots of bands get described as sounding like Quicksand, but with the exception of this band and maybe Shift in their earlier years, no other band really sounded like them. Except for maybe Never Only Once from Vermont, but how many of you have heard that? Its a good EP. I should upload that too.