Sparks - The Girl Is Crying In Her Latte (Album Review)
Monday, 05 June 2023
Written by Jack Terry
Not many bands manage to rack up 50 years in the game. Then again, there aren't many bands quite like Sparks. Brothers Ron and Russell Mael have been plying us with quirky, idiosyncratic art pop since the late ‘60s, and are as notable for their narrative lyrics as they are their visual peculiarities. But they’re also oddly reliable—Ron still dons a pencil moustache under his trademark scowl—and on ‘The Girl Is Crying In Her Latte’, they sound just as Sparks as ever.
The title track opens the album and while the stabbing synths and a Cate Blanchett-starring video drew rave reviews, in the context of the album it serves only as a starting point toward more glittering treasure.
Nothing Is As Good As They Say It Is and It’s Sunny Today are teeming with the sardonic wit that has long been a staple of their work, while the pedestrian lyrics of When You Leave make for an irresistible, toe-tapping time capsule from the ‘70s.
Take Me For A Ride is rock opera fodder, sounding like a long lost Nightmare Before Christmas number, and A Love Story has a Nordic murder-mystery meets Berlin nightclub vibe to it that ought to go down a treat at Glastonbury. Even after all this time, Sparks can find new ways to make sure no two tracks sound alike.
There’s an agelessness to Sparks that makes ‘The Girl Is Crying In Her Latte’ instantly timeless. The Mael Brothers have smartly stuck with their inimitable trademark personality, yet managed to avoid it sounding overdone even after 25 albums. You almost forget that they’re in their mid- to late-70s at this point, but that’s simply the sign of an institution. Long live Sparks.
Sparks Upcoming Tour Dates are as follows:
Thu June 22 2023 - WOLVERHAMPTON Civic at the Halls
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