Sparks
MAD!
TRANSGRESSIVE
The eccentricity that has forever been the throughline (if not lifeline) of every Sparks album since 1971—from glam-rock to hi-NRG disco to art-pop to crunk opera to minimal classicism—has pretty much given Ron and Russell Mael a license to kill by the time of their 26th album, MAD!. Some elements of what Sparks do as composers have changed or become more reliable within their last few albums (MAD! included), such as the haunting repetition of simple lyrics or their cool, consistent looping of reiterated musical phrases on tracks such as “Do Things My Own Way.” Beyond that, however, a Sparks album in the 2020s (and there have been three so far, not counting their icily orchestral soundtrack recording for Leos Carax’s dramatic musical Anette) is pretty much an every-man-for-himself affair of idiosyncratic melody and tongue-in-cheek lyricism. Same as it ever was, God bless them.
Having lowered his voice several octaves since the glass-shattering days of 1974’s Kimono My House, Russell Mael’s quieter, wordy purr (he’s now a countertenor) forces the listener to move closer to the intimate tones and sincere longings dedicated to romantic splits (“Drowned in a Sea of Tears”) and cultural obsession (the souped-up synth-pop “My Devotion”). Dreams are suitably crushed and desires gratingly shredded on “A Long Red Light,” and there’s a seriousness to the proceedings that threaten to ruin the goofball party.
Yet no Sparks album—MAD! or otherwise—filled with tracks geared toward wealthy faux royalty such as “Running Up a Tab at the Hotel for the Fab,” or tipsy lyrics ripping on Howard Hughes wearing Air Jordans, or sniping songs such as “Don’t Dog It” and “Hit Me, Baby,” would dare suffer fools or face down self-importance for too long.
