Sparks, the madcap art pop brothers, are back with MAD!, a new batch of songs to follow up their great 2023 album, The Girl Is Crying In Her Latte. Seven decades into their career, and this being the 28th album by the duo, the brothers Mael are still bouncing with energy and vigour with hilarious satire pop songs like “JanSport Backpack,” an anthemic synthy ode probably about Ron watching a couple breakup in real time? Or how about the glitzy glam rock “Running Up The Tab At The Hotel For The Fab,” which sounds like a song about indulging in room service at a five star hotel. I just love the image of the brothers just blowing their money on various cheeses and wines.
We’ve got love songs too, with a track like “My Devotion,” but of course, Russell’s delivery on a line like “Got your name written on my shoe / And I’m thinkin’ of gettin’ a tattoo,” awakens a little chuckle. “Don’t Dog It” is also properly funny about seeking advice from a priest and professor. One other standout is the slower, freaky orchestral number “A Long Red Light,” which recalls some other older orchestra Sparks tunes. So we’ve got classic Sparks songs here peppered throughout MAD! that, if they came out during their heyday in the ’80s, would probably be radio hits.
The Sparks Brothers 2021 documentary by Edgar Wright has certainly given the brothers’ music a new life and younger fan base, and they could easily phone it in by now and just tour—playing the hits until one of them decides to hang up the hat for good. But the fact that they are still writing music that challenges the modern pop landscape is highly commendable. Long live Sparks.
