Sparkwood: Jalopy Pop!

Four years after their debut effort, Austin-based Sparkwood have returned to deliver another fine collection of pleasantly melodic pop. Jalopy Pop! serves up a healthy portion of sweet songs that seem awash in aural sunshine and happy sounds (though the lyrics often run contrary to that direction). Bart Padar, the man behind the songs, is well-versed in creating the kind of well-constructed pop song that runs three to five minutes and leaves a most genial impression.

On this record he’s a whirlwind of creative energy that lights the spark behind Sparkwood; he writes and arranges the songs, plays keyboards, acoustic guitar and handles all lead vocals. Padar also knows how to make a reviewer smile. Here is how he describes his band: “If Queen met Jellyfish on the softball field and the players wore Sgt. Pepper’s LHCB uniforms and Ben Folds was the umpire, Sparkwood would write the music.” I’m unsure that’s the game afoot with this particular collection, but it’s a good listen regardless.

After some 40 seconds of electronic sounds and a checklist prior to takeoff, things get underway with “Miles Away”, an uber-catchy song that might have garnered radio play in decades past. This is modern teen angst given voice in music: a story of how meds get in the way of love, changing a formerly close person into someone distant and removed.

In “Cruel World”, Padar and friends expose what happens when lovers are at cross purposes, when what at first seemed a great match deteriorates over time:

“You wanted to get away from life in this town, /
I needed to get away from the walls coming in, /
Love is a cruel thing, /
Life is a cruel world, /
Sometimes I wish that life as we know it would end.”

These are lyrics that could be ripped from the pages of someone’s diary, set against a melody that could comfortably fit onto the Grease soundtrack.

Also reminiscent of the 1950s piano ballad is the poignant “Nichole’s Overture”, wherein poetic lyrics express empathy toward a confused girl who finds herself at a loss, not knowing which way to turn.

There’s a feel of traditionally happy, cheery retro pop to “In Your Lovin’ Arms” (featuring some nice bass lines from Josh Gravelin). The harmonies are accented with electronic synth sounds in this tale of lovers lamenting their separation and thinking of their eventual reunion. Padar also gives a nod to Jon Sebastian’s “Welcome Back” at the song’s close.

Padar takes pretty melodies and arrangements that sound familiar and pleasant, and decorates them with lyrics that update past conventions with modern concerns. Even the seemingly small-stakes of a song about a confusing relationship (the mysteriously titled “D”) is given an intriguing musical arrangement featuring clarinet (Marianne Tatom Letts) and trombone (Adrian Hernandez). This girl stands him up one night, then realizes what she did was wrong. After they make up, our narrator winds up “right back where (he) started”. While there’s nothing earth-shattering about such insights about young love, they have an emotional honesty that works.

Working off familiar (and annoying) telephone sounds, Sparkwood heads into another pleasant harmony-laced pop song with “Past Experience”. Our hero is trying to prevent his baby from moving away, but she refuses to answer the phone (and thus, he’s starting to lose his mind).

There’s a somber feel to “Ready For the Day”, as a man picks up the pieces after a dashed relationship: “The morning is cold and dark and gray, / What’s become of yesterday?” There’s a nice middle bridge of dreamy harmonies and operatic vocals, and while the lyrics lean toward optimistic new hopes, there’s still a seriousness to the music (and a coda that could be a cousin to the opening of “Strawberry Fields Forever”).

“Wishing You Well” is another relationship-gone-awry song, wherein one recounts the feeling that one’s “heart has gone for a ride”. Again, this is genial pop of the first order — a sweet, sugary melody with plenty of harmony.

Rocking, bouncy guitar-driven Southern pop is the fare of “Where She Ought to Be”, (featuring some fine guitar from Peter Elliott), offering musical advice we all can use: “Don’t fade before you flame”. Another mid-tempo rocker is “Emergency”, a tale of yet another failed romance.

“Glimpse of Hope” is another ballad, asking for understanding and some respect: “Maybe I’m not gonna fall in your footsteps, / That don’t mean you gotta look down on me.” With “3 Words”, Padar shows off his keyboard virtuosity, both on piano and synth. It’s an affecting apology about taking so long to say those magical three words. A bonus “Train Song” rewards those who let the last track run on, setting solid advice to pleasant music: “Look to your soul / To guide you through, / It’s all you can do.”

With 14 songs, Jalopy Pop! gives you plenty — just under a full hour of the kind of easy-going sweet pop that recalls earlier eras, updated with lyrics that speak more to modern lovers’ dilemmas. The sweetness never gets overly saccharine or syrupy, and Bart Padar and Boo MacLeod keep the production clean. While the personnel changes from track to track, there are fine performances here from the likes of Adam Tyner, Jason Bryl, Peter Elliott, Josh Gravelin, Mike Watson, Brandon Gonzales, Michael J. Wane and Whit Williams.

All told, Sparkwood’s Jalopy Pop! is an accomplished sophomore collection from the talented Padar and friends, one that fans of sweet melodic pop will be sure to love.