Last week, Sparks dropped their 25th studio record called The Girl is Crying in Her Latte (the video for the song features a bespectacled Cate Blanchett dancing) and pretty much every review I’ve read raves about it. Some of them are even calling it one of the top albums of the year. Not only is it incredible that the Mael brothers are still together as a band after 50-plus years, but the fact that their music has continued to grow in popularity is pretty astonishing. I’ve known Sparks’ music since the 80s, but I’ve never been what you would call a rabid fan. I did love The Sparks Brothers documentary that Edgar Wright directed in 2021 and it’s really what prompted me to start deep-diving their discography. What I found was that the handful of songs that I knew (like this one or this one) were only the smallest tip of a wonderfully creative iceberg that is more than just quirky pop tunes. Sparks have likely inspired many of your favorite bands directly or indirectly and for five decades they’ve continued to just be themselves and make the music they want to make. If you’re not already familiar with them or you only know the hits, you might want to check out Kimono My House or Hippopotamus, which may actually be my favorite record of theirs…although the tunes on the new record are really growing on me.
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Yeah, the 2021 documentary's definitely on my list. Sad to say their music's somehow been passing me by! Need to fix that.