Spark Is a Diamond "Try This on for Size"

Try This on for Size is Spark Is a Diamond's debut release; a blend of dance-y beats, rocked-out post-punk guitar riffs and singer Alison Bellavance's gravelly, grating screaming. (You might remember it from her previous metalcore band, Fall River.) While it's got the makings of a shitty record, it's actually not bad -- it's catchy enough to keep me coming back, and it's got enough solid, often single-string guitar riffs to provide me some real substance. There's some sort of a Refused influence running through Try This on for Size -- the few electronic flourishes drive home the comparison -- but don't expect anything nearly as ambitious or expansive as something like The Shape of Punk to Come. It's generally stripped down to the basics.

The biggest issue Spark Is a Diamond faces is working some variety into their songs. The screaming, the guitar riffs and (especially) the drumming follows a standard path in each of the 11 songs, and you'll feel like you've heard them all twice by the time it's over. (Okay, excluding the cover of Salt-n-Pepa's "Push It.") This is fun, but, at this point, I wouldn't want more than 24 minutes of it at once.

Spark Is a Diamond - ___ ___ Has a Deathwish

Little pricey for the amount of music you get, but what can you do?