The biggest constant throughout over half a century of Sparks has been their willingness to try something new. In the case of ‘MADDER!’, it is one of their least revolutionary acts, merely their first ever EP, and acts as a companion piece to ‘MAD!’ which achieved their highest ever UK album chart position.
What is apparent from lead single ‘Porcupine’ is that these are not a bunch of scruffy extras but songs so good it would be unjustifiable to leave them unreleased. The lyric celebrates a prickly character and the tune is notable for Ron Mael’s hypnotic whirling keyboards acting as a counterpoint to brother Russell’s staccato delivery, alongside big riffs and pounding drumbeats. The video features a star cameo to rank alongside Cate Blanchett’s appearance in ‘The Girl is Crying in her Latte’. This time, they have hired Self Esteem who has a ball vamping it up as the song’s eponymous antihero. While a delusional Russell is describing her as “unapologetic in her style / but she grows on you, it takes a while”, she is commandeering a steamroller and smiling gleefully as she squashes the Mael brothers. The scenario is characteristic of the band’s lightness of touch and willingness to laugh at themselves. The mention of “fine French wines” is a recognisable trait of Ron’s lyrics. His protagonists are always more likely to be luxuriating in or being comparable to the likes of Courvoisier Brandy rather than cheap lager.
Their songs often make a virtue of repetition and ‘Fantasize’ is a prime example, starting with a string of ‘no’s, going on to create a choir of Russells and making something grandiose from minimal elements while also retaining a sense of sad solitude. ‘Mess Up’ is led by a particularly wonky keyboard line which fits one of their most rhythmically complex songs. Please send answers to the riddle of its time signature to the editorial mailbox. Final track, ‘They’, works in some ominous orchestration and banked voices. With its gently anthemic sway, it would make a classic ending to a set and in its tale of audience expectations being let down, it makes for an ironic farewell on a par with ‘Piss Off’ from the FFS album.
While it would be ridiculous to describe Sparks as ageless, they do seem to have managed to slow the ageing process. At eighty, Ron is still a fount of creativity, producing songs that self-reference the band’s individual quirks but bring new angles to them. Russell’s voice remains undiminished at an age when more famed peers are relying on audience goodwill to overlook their weaknesses and his onstage energy is phenomenal. These four songs show that there is plenty left in the well and that Sparks are MADDER than ever.
Sparks: MADDER! – Out 3 October 2025 (Transgressive Records)
I was editor of the long-running fanzine, Plane Truth, and have subsequently written for a number of publications. While the zine was known for championing the most angular independent sounds, performing in recent years with a community samba percussion band helped to broaden my tastes so that in 2021 I am far more likely to be celebrating an eclectic mix of sounds and enthusing about Made Kuti, Anthony Joseph, Little Simz and the Soul Jazz Cuban compilations as well as Pom Poko and Richard Dawson.
