Sparks Set to Release 20th Album:
“Hello
Young Lovers”
Out March 14th on In The Red Records
First Single “Dick Around” out Feb 14th
On their incomparable new album, Sparks protest predictability,
obliterate the ordinary and demand utmost respect. With moments
of sheer beauty, frenzy, dissonance, harmony, pure genius…it
rocks!!
It is cinematic and bold, lyrically liberal. It may not win a Grammy…rather
an Academy Award. It's music for smart people. Never, Never, has
there been an auditory assault of such magnitude presented in the
realm of pop music.
When Sparks' last album Lil' Beethoven hit the streets critics lauded
and applauded, fans smiled smugly with overdue vindication and fellow
musicians wept when faced with the reality that, once again, Sparks
had raised the bar by which all other albums should be judged.
Now the Angeleno brothers Ron and Russell Mael present Hello Young
Lovers, their 20th album. To achieve such enormity and expansiveness
Ron and Russell Mael worked in a limitless vacuum for the best part
of 18 months. The only inspiration taken from any current music
was the provocation to go as far as possible in the opposite direction.
When writing and recording Lil Beethoven Sparks broke the rules,
but in creating Hello Young Lovers the rule book has been thrown
away.
The resulting album is an extraordinary masterpiece
MOJO MAGAZINE JANUARY 2006 ( * * * * 4 stars )
In glam 1974 there was no more thrilling moment than Sparks “top
of the pops “ debut. Russell's falsetto and gunshot alongside
Ron's Chaplin-meets - Hitler 'tache and unblinking stare made for
3 minutes of madness which few have ever matched. Thirty-two years
on, Sparks are not only still together but still making astonishing
music. As torchbearers for that almost lost tradition of theatrically
and artifice in pop, and they appear adrift from today's music scene
- and all the better for it.
The bands 20th album “Hello Young Lovers “delights in
the absurd, the grand, theatrical gesture, and the knowing, witty
aside. In an era when even the loftiest of Rock Gods have been demystified
by the Internet, Sparks retain a mythic corona, which few other
than Morrissey continue to possess. Sparks remain a puzzle, and
how refreshing is that?
Once again Ron and Russell are joined by Tammy Glover (drums) and
Dean Menta (guitar) with guest musicians Jim Wilson (guitar) and
Steve McDonald (bass).
