With a barebones lineup of drums, bass, and amplified cello, Sparrows pull influences ranging from psychedelia to tango into their spacious instrumental tunes. Somewhere between droning soundscape, anthemic rock-out, and chamber music, Sparrows stake their claim on an entirely different piece of territory.

Before joining forces, Sparrows' three members were involved in projects that were all over the musical map: a major label rock band, a traditional Chinese music ensemble, a solo singer-songwriter act. Reid Kruger, Jonathan Kaiser, and Billy Franklin were drawn together by the desire to try something completely different. Billy put down his guitar and picked up bass, Reid abandoned bass in favor of drums, and Jonathan plugged his cello into some guitar effects. A few weeks after their first impromptu rehearsal, the still-unnamed trio had already prepared a set of original songs and a deadpan cover of a Yeah Yeah Yeahs tune -- just in time to play their first show, a party at a hair salon.

Since then, Sparrows have spent time developing their sound both in the studio and on stage. They have brought their dynamic live show to a number of Minneapolis venues, galleries, and festivals including the Fine Line, Bar Lurcat, Art-a-Whirl, Acadia Cafe, and Stevens Square Center for the Arts.

The new Sparrows EP is out on August 24, 2005. Visit sparrowsmusic.com for more details.