'Hello Young Lovers' was released in 2006, and revisited the piano and orchestral arrangements of 'Lil' Beethoven' with more rock guitar and drums. There is also an emphasis on vocal arrangements, all performed by Russell and increasingly complex. The songs are almost all over four minutes long, and this seems …
Sparks released 'Exotic Creatures of the Deep, their 21st album, in 2008. It's stylistically similar to 'Hello Young Lovers' and 'Lil' Beethoven' in being piano and vocal driven with both orchestral and guitar driven arrangement. The backing band consist of the same drummer and guitarist, Tammy Glover and Dean Menta …
'The Seduction of Ingmar Bergman', released on August 14th 2009, was a complete departure for the band, in that it was a musical for radio, commissioned by Sveriges Radio Radioteatern. It was conceived as a single piece, rather than a collection of songs. The play was first broadcast in Sweden …
'Two Hands, One Mouth: Live In Europe is a compilation of recordings from the European leg of Sparks 2012 tour of the same name, where they performed as a duo with no band. It features songs from across their (then) 45 year career. The instrumentation is mostly piano with a …
Following their tour and live LP, the logical next step was to collaborate on an LP with a group of British fans. It helped that the fans in question were Scottish band Franz Ferdinand. The relationship between the bands had been formed in the early 2000s following the release of …
Following the success of 'FFS', the band returned to a more conventional sound for their 23rd LP 'Hippopotamus' , with the return of guitars and drums, both human and electronic alongside Ron's keyboard. The songs again make use of repetition and intricate vocal arrangements, covering a range of diverse themes and …
'A Steady Drip Drip Drip' is Sparks' 24th LP, recorded in 2019 and released in 2020, just in time for Covid. It featured a full rock band, with a new lineup, alongside the Mael brothers. The new lineup seems to lead to a new sound as well, with acoustic rhythm …
Sparks conceived 'Annette' as a concept album in 2010 and intended it to be a feature length musical video, but then found that they needed to write a screenplay for it anyway. The film was directed by Leos Carax and stars Adam Driver and Marion Cotillard. Annette herself is the …
The Sparks Brothers is a 2021 film produced by Edgar Wright, who also produced the rarely seen arthouse classic Hot Fuzz. It is, of course, a celebration of the band featuring fans, people who have worked with them, and the band themselves. At the moment it isn't available to watch …
Sparks most recent LP 'The Girl Is Crying In Her Latte' was released in May 2023, saw them sign with Island Records again, where they had been signed in the 1970s. The titular first single from had it a video featuring Cate Blanchett dancing in headphones and a yellow suit …