SPARKY DEATHCAP - ONES TO WATCH IN 2010

As promised over the next few days we’ll be posting articles about the acts we think you should be looking out for this year. These are not necessarily people or groups we think are going to become massive or win Best Newcomer at the Brits - on the contrary, most of these “ones to watch” will simply be artists we love and want to give you a heads up about.

Take today’s choice, for example. Sparky Deathcap is never going to appear in the top 40, because for some reason the general public don’t like lyrics about painting a girls portrait “from the entrails of all the animals and the people that I would kill for you”. More fool them, because Sparky is one of the best songwriters I’ve come across in ages, and I’m hopeful that this year he’ll begin to get some wider recognition.

Comparisons with Jeffrey Lewis and Sufjan Stevens are inevitable, and whilst they don’t give the full picture songs such as the excellent “Glasgow Is A Punk Rock Town” and “B-Roads” show why they’re deserved. The former especially is a song I can’t stop listening to, it’s that perfect. The Beach Boys harmonies, the muted horn intro - everything about it makes me happy, and you can get it for free HERE.

The similarly brilliant “Berlin Syndrome” displays Sparky’s lyrical talents at their very best, making it easy to see why Gareth Campesinos! calls him “one of the most poignant, intelligent and humorous lyricists I could name”. I’d have to agree and say that whether extolling the benefits of hallowe’en for ugly people (“You can wear a costume or just say that it’s a mask / and you can bet they’ll never ask about the eyepatch”), or singing about an organ transplant delivery man in a hastily written Ukulele Rock Opera (which you should definitely watch parts ONE, TWO and THREE of on Youtube), Sparky Deathcap is a truly great artist.

Late last year Sparky released a whole five tracks of sonic gorgeousness on the Tear Jerky EP. If you’re cheap, you can listen to the whole EP and some other assorted tracks on his myspace, but if you can spare the cash then get the Tear Jerky EP HERE. It really is worth the money.

Jed. x