Last week after playing a show at the music venue Casino de Paris the Mael
brothers, better known as spicy pop legends SPARKS, played a short version
of their big 1974 hitThis Town Ain’t Big Enough For The Both Of Us at/on
a public piano at the historic Gare du Nord station in Paris.
Band: SPARKS Who: Eccentric pop sibling stars Ron and Russell Mael Active: Since 1966 (!) / 24 studio albums, with first-class
LP A Steady Drip, Drip, Drip as their most recent one, came
out in 2020.
Anniversary album: ANGST IN MY PANTS – their 11th LP Released: 29 March 1982 – 40 years ago today
AllMusic/Dave Connolly wrote: “Although mired in a rut of merely “good” albums,
Sparks had offered occasional glimpses of their old greatness on each, fanning the dim
hope that they might climb again to previous heights. The faithful were rewarded with
Angst in My Pants, the first album in years that puts their pop genius to good use.”
Score: 4/5.
The Mael brothers, better know as SPARKS wrote not only the soundtrack
but also the script for music movie Annette which premiered at the 74th
annual Cannes Film Festival last Wednesday.
One of the songs is SO MAY WE START and was shared some weeks ago.
And here’s the new video clip for this sparkling pop earworm…
5 new firecrackers to boost your favorite 48 hours…
‘So May We Start’ by SPARKS (Los Angeles)
A sparkling pocket pop opera with Adam Driver and Marion Cotillard joining the Mael
brothers on vocals. From upcoming movie Annette for which they also wrote the script.
Listen here…
‘Stand Down’ by THE SARANDONS (Toronto, Canada)
A cracker “about letting down your guard…maybe doing something crazy like picking up the phone and calling a friend. How punk is that?!”. These Canadians know how to rattle and roll with some Tom Petty gusto and some Stones-esque riffs. Big fun, folks! From their brand new 5-track EP Outrunning. Stream here.
Press play here…
‘Worry With You’ by SLEATER-KINNEY (Washington)
A song about being stuck on the other side of an ocean from someone else.
Pretty funky, brisk, and edgy. From their new, upcoming LP Path Of Wellness.
Tune in…
‘Never Be The Shame’ by FURTHER THE LION (Hamilton, Ontario)
The song “reminds the listener that sometimes something profound can happen to
you that changes you to your core and it’s not always a negative thing.” Expect emo-grunge melodiousness with a passionate edge, a romantic feel, and a gripping chorus that sticks instantly. Touchdown!
Here’s why…
‘Something Real’ by FHANG (Canada) Mishka (half of this Canadian duo): “At the beginning of lockdown I would quietly dance in my living room at 3am listening to a rough version of the tune. It would turn into a disco with all the fire trucks and ambulances lighting up our curtains.” Weird experiences in weird times. This second single is movin’ smoothly on a groovin’ bass line while the sensitive mid-tempo ballad resonates like a reflective and melancholic The National reverie. I love it!
The Mael brothers, better know as SPARKS wrote not only the soundtrack
but also the script for upcoming music movie Annette. The film will open
the 74th annual Cannes Film Festival on July 7.
This is the trailer…
One of the songs is SO MAY WE START.
A sparkling pocket pop opera song with Adam Driver and Marion Cotillard joining Sparks.
A new documentary of the fabulous Mael siblings – Ron and Russell – called THE SPARKS BROTHERS will be released next month – June 18 in North
American theaters – via Focus Features. More infohere.
Watch the trailer featuring Beck, Jason Schwartzmann,
Todd Rundgren, Giorgio Moroder, RHCP’s Flea, and more famous fans…
I know, I can’t help it. This still sounds a.w.e.s.o.me
Turn Up The Volume‘s 15 Knockout Tracks for April 2021!
A fervid fusion of rhapsodic rippers and clashing crackerjacks.
‘Nike Soldier’ by ALAN VEGA (US)
Alan Vega is dead! Long live! This spine-chilling slo-mo groove
comes from his lost album Mutator released last week.
‘End Of The Night’ by A PLACE TO BURY STRANGERS (US)
Sounding like Nine Inch Nails going punk, Spacemen 3 returning from the dead
and The Brian Jonestown Massacre freaking out on acid, all at the same time. This
is what happens when lockdown blues leads to schizophrenia.
‘Boilermaker’ byROYAL BLOOD (UK)
The blues-rock tandem is back with this motherfucker of a slam dunk
from their brand new album Typhoons. Wham bloody hell bam!
‘Deeper Than Holy’ by PASTEL(UK)
Imagine the bittersweet symphony swagger of Richard Ashcroft and The Verve
and the natural-born coolness of Liam ‘tonight I’m a rock ‘n’ roll star’ Gallagher.
Supersonic, right? You better you bet.
‘Wake Up’ by LOBSTERBOMB (Berlin, Germany)
A screaming triumph. This up-and-coming Berlin trio on the stereo this hit and run trio combines Bikini Kill‘s rough outcries, L7‘s detonating gusto, and B-52‘s peppery liveliness. Bingo!
‘The Gimp’s Gimp‘ by BODY HORROR (UK)
A chainsaw intro followed by manic drum thwacks and a frenetic bass force, and a
bit later a nightmarish voice joining the freaked-out get-together. All this brain-breaking
stuff happens in under a minute. Hallelujah!…
. ‘Nobody Everyone’ by WEEKEND DEBT (Scotland)
Highly energetic and sharp-riffing indie rock at its youthful best. Smells like teen spirit. Big guitars, big drums/bass, big tune, and big post-breakup vocals. What do you need more to boost your bloodstream?
‘Pilot‘ by MODEL CHILD (Los Angeles)
2 minutes of rage, anger and endless humanitarian struggle.
Fuck the greedy rich! Fuck the military industry! FUCK WAR!
‘The Men Who Rule The World’ by GARBAGE (US/Scotland)
A surprisingly funky disco banger that triggers your head’s up-and-down movement the very moment the money drops into the corrupt politicians’ pockets. I still love you, Shirley!
‘Your Fandango’ by TODD RUNDGEN & SPARKS (US)
Old friends Sparks and Todd Rundgen team up again, after so many years, for a mini pop opera. The legends still deliver and it seems this town is big enough for the both of them.
‘Moshi Moshi’ by COMMON FLAWS (Italy)
Mostly instrumental, except for a hazy voice in the distance, this electro earworm
gets under your skin from the clap along intro and goes on like forever. Imagine Aphex Twin going synth-pop for a change. The power of repetition!
‘Be There’ by MIHI NIHIL (Los Angeles, US)
Shadowy, starry-eyed and emotive pearl. Twinkling guitars, gripping vocals and
captivating melodiousness. Magnificent beauty from their new self-titled LP.
‘Streetlights’ by LOSSLINE (Manchester, UK)
Genuine, heart & soul lockdown blues. Melodramatic musing for twilight moments and nightly wanderings. From the duo’s excellent, midnight hours album Fading Affect Bias. Don’t miss this.
‘Amsterdam’ by MOONLIGHT PARADE (UK)
Magical and red-colored ballad, combining the melodic melancholia of Teenage Fanclub and The Coral. A sweet little gem about a wonderful city I’m in love with for a long time now. Press play and let your thoughts drift away on a cloud.
‘Trust’ by MASHMELLOW (Moscow, Russia)
Dream pop for lonely nights with echoes from The Sundays and Mazzy Star. Yes, that bewitchingly good. One of the highlights from their new 6-tack EP titled Pole Pole.
Philly icon/multi-instrumentalistTODD RUNDGREN produced the 1977 debut album of kooky brothersSPARKS. And now, after 44 years, the stars of the past teamed up once again for a new song called YOUR FANDANGO.
“They sent me this song that sounded substantially like a finished product, except for the fact that I think there was some placeholder stuff that was meant to be developed a little further and they just never got around to it. I started just dressing it up and adding some vocal parts, writing some lyrics for it. And, in the end, you know — they sent me the track, I sent back what I did to them. We were both happy with it, and the label’s happy with it because they’re going to put it out.” says Rundgren about the collaboration.
Your Fandago is pretty special and also Sparks-esque,
actually a mini pop opera…
‘Set My Heart On Fire Immediately’ by PERFUME GENIUS – Seattle, US – Fifth album
“Whatever he’s doing, the results are uniformly fantastic: rich, fascinating and moving, packed with gorgeous melodies and arrangements that feel alive, constantly writhing into unexpected new shapes. For an artist frequently characterised by his miserable backstory of bullying, addiction and chronic illness and his lyrical empathy for human failure and frailty, it feels astonishingly assured and confident in its approach, which perhaps explains the cover image and supporting cast: an expression of power and focus, like the album itself.” The Guardian (UK newspaper) – Score: 5/5
Stream here…
. ‘A Steady Drip, Drip, Drip’ by SPARKS – Pacific Palisades, California – 24th album
“You could pick a highlight for your every mood from this diverse set. It is an album as multi-faceted as it is innovative. And that’s Sparks to a tee. For all the surreal and light-hearted examinations of under-explored pop-song subjects such as Stravinsky and lawnmowers,
there are hugely poignant moments.” – Independent (UK newspaper) – Score: 4/5
Stream here…
. ‘Quickies’ by Magnetic Fields – New York City – 12th album
“The album’s songs offer funny and poignant portraits of their subjects, but on a deeper level, they address broader philosophical questions: What makes someone attractive to us when others find them loathsome? Why does domestic life feel so confining, while danger excites us? Why do we look back on the darkest moments of our life so fondly? Merritt’s ability to blend comedy and heartache through finely observed character studies is one of his greatest strengths, and that skill in fine form throughout Quickies.” – Slant (webzine US) Score: 4/5
“In addition to being his most crisply produced, sleek recording yet, Isbell’s latest is also his most haunted and ruminative (the word “ghost’ appears no less than five times). As such, Reunions feels meaningfully, if subtly, removed from the trilogy of post-sobriety records the Nashville-via-North Alabama songwriter has written over the past decade. Reunions is a nuanced, probing record that finds Isbell more restless than he’s been since Southeastern, a rich portrait of an artist eternally searching deeper within himself. “You tell the truth enough,” as he puts it on “Be Afraid,” “you find it rhymes with everything.” – Rolling Stone – Score: 3.5/5
Los Angeles eccentric art-synth-pop brothers SPARKS started their career way back
in 1967 (!) and they’re still alive and kicking today, aging in style with compelling music.
In May they will unleash their 24th (!) album called ‘A STEADY DRIP, DRIP, DRIP’. Last month they dropped twinkling lead-single Self-Effacing. Today we can enjoy another
new piece.
‘I’M TOAST’ sounds pretty upbeat but is actually a doom and gloom reflection on our troubled times as one of the famous brothers, keyboard player/songwriter Ron Mael
told Rolling Stone Magazine : “One tries to be uplifting in one’s songs, but occasionally
a cloud appears in the sky and one’s demeanor leads to songs like ‘I’m Toast.”
These lyrics are crystal clear: “I’m toast/ There’s something burning/ I’m toast/ I’m finally learning/ I’m toast/ Nothing stays the same as it was.”
