Though Sydney’s Scott Spark is now two full length albums deep, it’s a rare occurrence to witness the man in action – even in his hometown. Marking the release of his sophomore LP Muscle Memory at the Vanguard, however, was a rare live performance from the talented singer/songwriter.
Focusing on his latest, critically acclaimed release, Spark wasted no time by jumping straight into “Say Something Funny” off the new record, accompanied by a two piece band. Spark commands on the keys while his band adds their flavour on the bass and the drums (Adele Pickvance and Roger Gonzalez, respectively).
Though it might be easy to compare Spark vocally to someone like Rufus Wainwright or even, at times, Patrick Wolf – with higher vocals and impressive control of range – I think I’d relate him most to a fellow Sydney singer/songwriter, The Whitlams’ Tim Freeman. With tongue and cheek moments thrown in along the way, such as in set closer “Fail Like You Mean It” – which garnered some traction off his debut LP of the same name – Spark is nonetheless a serious composer who makes no attempt to hide where he’s from.
Australiana seeps through his lyrics, as does the less glamorous side of life and the city he now call home. Take his anti-romance song that says ‘you’re great and all… but I was OK before you came along, too’. Not quite “blow up the pokies”, but perhaps the objective – to throw lyrical expectations on their head as a ‘protest’ of sorts – holds a similar sentiment. But be the comparisons Wolf, Freedman or Wainwright, it’s probably easiest just to call the man an underrated Australian songwriting talent – and much like Freedman or even the genius of Paul Kelly, an exemplary storyteller to boot.
As his backing duo moved off stage, Spark went solo for a few numbers, including “Yellow Raincoat”, off whose lyrics comes the title of his latest record. This saw Spark don a yellow raincoat as he told a story about a missed raincoat in New York City that served as the inspiration for the track. It wouldn’t be the only time that a introductory story served as our navigation point for his lyrics.
“I Really Hate My Boss” was another moment that blended humour with real world scenarios, and the brilliant “Days Are Business”, with its Surry Hills references and stunning lyrics – “some things are worth waiting for / but you know I’m an impatient soul” – was one of his shining moments. And let’s not forget “Barry For President” – a track off the new record which heralds for the inauguration of Dame Edna’s alter ego, should we ever become a republic, that is…
Like many performers, seeing the man is action is like getting to experience the other half of the story. And here’s hoping Spark make those opportunities more frequent in the future.
Scott Spark will next perform at the Brisbane Powerhouse on Friday, September 5th…. Muscle Memory is out now.
