Sparechange - Fifty Thousand Moments

by Mark Rowland

published: 17 / 12 / 2001

Label: Grilled Cheese
Format: CD

This EP follows the release of Sparechange00's first album on the Grilled Cheese record label, '..At first sight', their third full-length album to date, which was preceded by 1997's 'Give to the Poo

Review

This EP follows the release of Sparechange00's first album on the Grilled Cheese record label, '..At first sight', their third full-length album to date, which was preceded by 1997's 'Give to the Poor', and 1999's 'Has Sincerity Gone out of Style?'. Despite being around for four years, Sparechange00 are still a young band, with only one member over 21. Sparechange are best described as emo-core, and it's easy to make connections with them and the Get up Kids in terms of musical style. Still, it is easy to distinguish between Sparechange and the Get up Kids, especially in the vocals. Singer/guitarist Ryan Watts has a distinctive melancholic wail which is partly what makes Sparechange00 stand out amongst most pop-punk/emo bands. Another factor that sets them apart is that their songs are not all break-ups and shoe-gazing. Sure, that is present here, notably on 'What Plagues My Center?' and 'Things I'd Like to Tell You', but also covered is the happiness of being on tour on opener 'Heart's the Driver' (key line:"There's no place I'd rather be") and hearing one of their own songs on the radio, on the cunningly named 'My Song on the Radio'. On acoustic song, 'Oceans', the song standard dips a little, but overall 'Fifty Thousand Moments' shows a rapidly improving band.