The official video for new single stars Self Esteem
Following the release of their 26th studio album MAD! in May, Sparks have announced details of companion EP, MADDER!
“Not wanting the Mad!ness to end and buoyed by the phenomenal reaction to MAD!, we made a hasty but intense retreat to the studio to record a Sparks first: an EP,” say Ron and Russell Mael. “MADDER!, a four-song companion piece to the album, is for everyone who isn’t yet MAD! enough. We hope these new songs will take you to an even MADDER! place.”
The first single from the MADDER! EP is Porcupine, a song of a guy’s fascination with a woman who possesses, shall we say, a prickly personality, all to a verse with a highly infectious organ riff that yields to heavy guitars in the choruses. “She’s a porcupine,” Russell croons a metaphor or something more troubling?
Watch the official video for Porcupine, starring Self Esteem, below:
Innovative & Inspiring
Directed by Fred Rowson, produced by Blink Productions, with special effects by Selected Works, the release of the video follows Ron and Russell’s surprise appearance with Gorillaz at the Copper Box Arena in London and coincides with the North American leg of their band’s MAD! Tour.
Sparks’ recent European tour, with the usual eclectic selection of the brothers’ work, set against a stunning production, has also been an unqualified success. Classic Pop’s Barry Page writing: “The tight 20-track set barely scratches at the surface of their considerable back catalogue… True to the unspoken manifesto of recent single Do Things My Own Way, they continue to challenge the perception of what a Sparks show should entail, and devote a quarter of their set to new album MAD! – not that the sweaty crowd seem to mind.
“With many contemporaries choosing to rest on their laurels, Sparks continue to not only innovate and inspire, but perform to an astonishingly high level.”
MADDER! EP
The other tracks on the EP are Fantasize, Mess Up and They, and the new material is in the pioneering spirit of the MAD! album, which was greeted with rave reviews. Classic Pop stating in its 4-star review: “As forward-facing as ever, the Mael brothers still remain willing to take creative risks on an often surprising 28th studio album.”
The worldwide release of MADDER! is 3 October, although physical copies – on CD, black vinyl and picture disc – will be on sale to fans during Sparks’ North American tour in September.
Pre-order here
Featured image credit: Munachi Osegbu
Subscribe to Classic Pop magazine here
Classic Pop may earn commission from the links on this page, but we only feature products we think you will enjoy.
