Sparrows is a three-piece

post hardcore Post-hardcore is a punk rock music genre that maintains the aggression and intensity of hardcore punk but emphasizes a greater degree of creative expression. It was initially inspired by post-punk and noise rock. Like post-punk, the term has be ...

band originally from

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, Canada. Formed in 2010 the band consists of

vocalist Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

guitarist A guitarist (or a guitar player) is a person who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of guitar family instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselv ...

Dan Thomson,

Alex Pley, and

drummer A drummer is a percussionist who creates music using drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one mem ...

Jon Busby. In March 2015 the group was named one of

Alternative Press Alternative press may refer to: Individual publications * ''Alternative Press'' (magazine), an American music magazine Alternative journalism * Alternative media ** Alternative media (U.S. political left) ** Alternative media (U.S. political ri ...

magazine's "100 Bands You Need to Know".

History

In 2010 lead vocalist and guitarist Dan Thomson recruited Marco Cellucci to form a band which would become the original

based iteration of Sparrows.
Sparrows says Ottawa is ‘the perfect size’ for aspiring talent
', Griffin Elliot, Retrieved fro
Charlatan.ca
2012-12-04 After releasing their first EP ''Goliath'' in May 2011 (with the addition of bassist Richard Hill and touring guitarist Krys Blaney) the group shifted into a complete lineup change the following January in which Devlin Morton, Brandon Dejardins, and Rembrandt MacLeod would replace Hill, Blaney, and Cellucci.
Loud local rockers Sparrows bask in debut US tour, exciting new releases
', Ryan Pepper
TheFulcrum.ca
2012-09-18 The band released their LP ''Cold Ground'' in July 2013 through Broken Heart/Kat Kat Records before moving to Toronto and continuing to tour extensively performing across

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

and the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

including festivals;

SXSW South by Southwest, abbreviated as SXSW and colloquially referred to as South By, is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Te ...

NXNE North by Northeast (or NXNE) is an annual music and arts festival held each June in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The festival's main focus is live music, but it also includes an eSports gaming tournament, comedy, a conversations series, a flea marke ...

Canadian Music Week Canadian Music Week (or CMW) is an industry conference and music festival held over ten days in Toronto and Ontario, Canada. History Canadian Music Week began in 1981 and has grown to become one of Canada's largest and most influential media a ...

, and the

Ottawa Bluesfest Ottawa Bluesfest is an annual outdoor music festival that takes place each July in downtown Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. While the festival's lineup historically focused on blues music at its inception, it has increasingly showcased mainstream pop, ...

. In April 2014 Jon Busby, and Justin Sears would replace Morton, and MacLeod with Matthew Sears taking over from Brandon Dejardins during the fall of that same year. In 2015 the group was signed to Toronto-based aggressive rock label New Damage Records and shortly after released their second EP ''Dragging Hell'' in August of that year.
Exclusive Stream: Sparrows – “References To The Dead”
', Retrieved fro
NewNoiseMagazine.com
2018-05-17
Toronto's SPARROWS Sign With New Damage Records; New EP Due This Summer
', Retrieved from Bravewords.ca, 2015-06-04 Following the release of their EP bassist Matthew left the band (citing personal reasons) and was replaced by Kevin Dennison and after another series of North American tours the band released their debut LP ''Let the Silence Stay Where It Was'' in October 2016 on New Damage Records.
New Damage Records announces Fiends of Winter tour
', Cassandra Popescu, Retrieved fro
CanadianBeats.ca
2016-12-22 In March of the following year bassist Kevin Dennison ended his tenure with the group with replacement Jaret Maillet stepping in until October 2017. Prior to the departure of Maillet the band supported

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

winning American

metalcore Metalcore (also known as metallic hardcore) is a fusion music genre that combines elements of extreme metal and hardcore punk. As with other styles blending metal and hardcore, such as crust punk and grindcore, metalcore is noted for its use of ...

group Norma Jean during their "Polar Summer Tour".
Norma Jean - Polar Summer Toronto
', Retrieved from Norma Jean

Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...

, 2017-05-23 In May 2019 the group announced their third studio album ''Failed Gods'' via Sound Anxiety Records with the addition of bassist Jack Panic.
Sparrows Goes Quiet And Then Explodes On New Song "A Little Crowded Death"
', Greg Kennelty, Metal Injection, Retrieved fro
MetalInjection.net
2019-05-29 The following month the group debuted the video for their single "Fifth Helena Drive" featuring local Toronto venue

Sneaky Dee's Sneaky Dee's is a concert venue and Tex-Mex restaurant in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Originally opened in 1987 on the north west corner of Bloor Street and Bathurst, it moved to its present location at College and Bathurst in 1990. History 562 B ...

, the same day the restaurant announced their collaborative dish "Fifth Helena Homefries".
Watch Toronto Post-Hardcore Unit Sparrows' New Video for "Fifth Helena Drive"
', Joe Smith-Engelhardt, Exclaim.ca, 2019-06-27 In November 2019 the band announced via Facebook a new lineup featuring Thomson, Busby, and the addition of guitarist Alex Pley.
Hello Everyone
', Sparrows Facebook, Retrieved fro
Facebook.com
2019-11-16 In September of 2020, Sparrows released the two song EP Death Crown digitally. These two tracks were recorded earlier in 2020 with Mario Quintero of Spotlights.

Musical style

Sparrows is considered

post-hardcore Post-hardcore is a punk rock music genre that maintains the aggression and intensity of hardcore punk but emphasizes a greater degree of creative expression. It was initially inspired by post-punk and noise rock. Like post-punk, the term has been ...

utilizing melodic elements of

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

and

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

throughout their music.
From the Road: Sparrows
', Alex Auxier, Retrieved fro
OrangeAmps.com
2013-10-22 In 2013

described their sound as "If

Moneen Moneen (sometimes stylised as .moneen.) is a Canadian indie rock band from Brampton, Ontario. History Moneen formed in 1999 after the dissolution of another band, called Perfectly Normal. The founding members were singer/guitarist Kenny Bridges ...

sounded evil" as Moneen guitarist/vocalist Kenny Bridges had produced three records for the group. A 2019 article from Metal Injection compared the group's blasts of distortion and use of dynamics to the American

alternative metal Alternative metal (also known as alt-metal) is a genre of heavy metal music Heavy metal (or simply metal) is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the United Kingdom and United States. With r ...

group

Deftones Deftones is an American alternative metal band formed in Sacramento, California in 1988. They were formed by Chino Moreno (vocals, guitar), Stephen Carpenter (guitar), Abe Cunningham (drums), and Dominic Garcia (bass). During their first five ...

Band members

Current members

* Dan Thomson –

lead vocals The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of t ...

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

(2010–present) * Jon Busby –

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

(2014–present) * Alex Pley –

(2019–present)

Former members

* Justin Sears –

(2014–2019) * Jack Panic -

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

(2018–2019) * Jaret Maillet -

(2016–2017) * Kevin Dennison –

(2015–2016) * Matthew Sears -

(2014–2015) * Rembrandt MacLeod -

(2012–2014) * Devlin Morton -

(2012–2014) * Brandon Desjardins -

(2012–2014) * Krys Blaney -

(2010–2011) * Marco Cellucci -

(2010–2011) * Richard Hill -

(2010–2011)

Discography

Sparrows have released two EP's and three albums

EPs

* 2011: ''Goliath'' * 2015: ''Dragging Hell''

Albums

* 2013: ''Cold Ground'' * 2016: ''Let the Silence Stay Where It Was'' * 2019: ''Failed Gods''

Music videos

* "Cave Eater" (2016)
Sparrows Cave Eater (Video)
', Gregory Adams, Exclaim.ca, 2016-08-16 * "References To The Dead" (2016)
Sparrows "References to the Dead" (video)
', Sarah Murphy, Exclaim.ca, 2016-01-27 * "The Written Rules Of Choking" (2017)
Video Premiere: Sparrows – “The Written Rules Of Choking”
', Retrieved fro
NewNoiseMagazine.com
2017-07-10 * "A Little Crowded Death" (2019) * "Fifth Helena Drive" (2019) * "Worship Song" (2019)
Exclusive Premiere of Sparrows New Video for “Worship Song”
', Outburn Magazine
Outburn.com
2019-07-30

References

External links

*
Facebook
{{Authority control Canadian hard rock musical groups Canadian musical trios Musical groups from Ottawa 2010 establishments in Ontario