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American art pop duo Sparks’ 26th studio album, MAD!, releases tomorrow.
The new body of work by the two brothers is set to examine cultural phenomena and current significant events in a satirical manner, including performative devotion to someone, whether it’s a lover, celebrity or a sports team, and the rise of influencers, while also retaining enough ambiguity for the listener to fill in the blanks.
Sonically, the 12 tracks are expected to feature nods to new wave, synthpop and electronic opera - genres that Sparks have pioneered throughout their career.
The duo said the album title perfectly describes their legacy, as well as the events discussed in the lyrics.
“It feels appropriate, specifically for this album and also because we’ve often been described as mad, in both connotations of the word: crazy and angry. MAD! fits that description,” Russell Mael said.
“And also for these times, when everything feels like it’s completely out of control and the world is mad in all meanings of the word.
“There were long Sparks board meetings about: ‘Do we really need that exclamation mark in the title?’ We decided it’s absolutely needed, to ram home the point,” he added.
Formed in 1971, the musical act are known for their quirky approach to song-writing, which sometimes contains literary or cinematic references, and a distinctive theatrical stage presence.
