Existentialism. That’s the first thing I thought of after listening to Red Sparowes’ new album The Fear is Excruciating, But Therein Lies the Answer, released April 6th with Sargent House. An instrumental group, Red Sparowes is based out of the eccentric city of Los Angeles. Their somber melodies, harsh crescendos, and use of the pedal steel guitar come together beautifully for an almost out of body experience.

Even though I prefer having a little words with my music, Red Sparowes pleasantly surprised me. I wouldn’t have considered listening to a group like this until I heard their song, Giving Birth to Imagined Saviors.  Slow at times, this song picks up with some great guitar harmonies and an unexpected climax – the main elements that made me want to listen to more. The last minute features outer space-like sounds that echo in your head even after you finish listening.

The longest song on the album – In Illusions of Order -starts out with a heavy bass, but the electric and pedal steel guitars are added soon enough with a background of light percussion and use of cymbals. At almost eight minutes long, this song makes you wish there were lyrics. Creative, yes, but I’m not one to listen to an all-instrumental song for eight whole minutes. Red Sparowes caters to a very specific group of listeners. However, there’s no doubt guitarists Andy Arahood, Bryant Clifford Meyer, Emma Ruth Rundle, bassist/pedal steel player Greg Burns and drummer David Clifford are talented musicians with a unique sound.

The Fear is Excruciating, But Therein Lies the Answer came about by the culmination of the band’s thoughts on truth, faith, order and a sincere grasp of the world around them. Scientific and spiritual are two words I would use to describe their latest album.  They just recently launched a North American headlining tour and will be accompanied by Doomriders, Caspian, and Fang Island at points along the way. Even though it’s not quite my style of music, I suggest giving them a listen because you never know, it might be yours. I give them a bee rating of 3/5.

Check out the video of a mixture of the tracks from their new album:

And here’s where some of their upcoming shows are:

April 10th, Chapel Hill @ Local 506
April 11th, Washington DC @ Rock & Roll Hotel
April 13th,  New York City @ Mercury Lounge
April 14th, New York City @ Mercury Lounge
April 15th, Boston, MA @ Middle East Downstairs
April 16th, Montreal, QC @ La Sala Rossa
April 17th, Toronto, ON @ the Garrison