Ron Mael is one of the most astute explorers of public sentiment. In any other discipline - playwright, cartoonist, novelist, filmmaker, chronicler - he would be Moliere, Hogarth, Fitzgerald, Altman, Swift. He happens to work with popular music. His brother Russell Mael has a talent for bringing these observations to life in a unique way, he is a terrific frontman and has a countertenor voice of exceptional range. The alchemy between Ron on keys and Russell on vocals - Two Hands, One Mouth, to quote the title of one of their tours - is simply what they do. And they've rarely managed to do it better than on ‘MAD!’.
ON ‘MAD!’ Ron and Russell explore cultural phenomena such as branded bags, tattoos, performative devotion (to a god, lover, celebrity or sports team), the prevalence of jokes and the rise of popularity. The satire never goes to extremes, but always leaves enough ambiguity for the listener to fill in the blanks. And the unusual choice of expressions (you won't hear the word ‘epistemology’ on many other albums this year) and cultural allusions catch the eye with every listen.
Musically, there are echoes of new wave, synthpop, art rock and electronic opera - all genres that Sparks had a hand in or even invented. When you hear echoes of other artists, from Air to Shostakovich, you're reminded that they're all people influenced by Sparks. (Well, maybe not Shostakovich).
Ultimately, however, ‘MAD!’ - is a modern record that fits and communicates with the modern world. The album opens with ‘Do Things My Own Way,’ a typically progressive song that also became the album's lead single. But it is also a kind of manifesto for Mael themselves. Because Sparks is a band that has always done things their own way.
