Mad!

''Mad!'' (stylized as ''MAD!'') is the 28th studio album by American pop duo Sparks, released through Transgressive Records on May 23, 2025.

Upon release, the album was met with critical acclaim and continued the group's commercial success in the UK, despite the return to an independent label. ''Mad!'' entered the UK album chart at no. 2, the highest in the band's career.

Background and recording

During a ceremony at the 2024 AIM Independent Music Awards in which Sparks received the honors of Outstanding Contribution to Music, bandmates Ron and Russell Mael took the opportunity to announce that they had signed to Transgressive Records for a new record. This follows a continuous period of chart success for the Mael brothers, with ''Hippopotamus'' (2017), ''A Steady Drip, Drip, Drip'' (2020), and '' The Girl Is Crying in Her Latte'' (2023) all peaking at no. 7 on the UK albums chart, the highest position since '' Kimono My House'' peaked at no. 4 in 1974.

Their first album of original material since leaving Island Records, the second time since ''Big Beat'' in 1976, ''Mad!'' also follows the self-released ''Annette – An Opera by Sparks (The Original 2013 Recordings)'' in 2024. In an interview for ''Mojo'' magazine, vocalist Russell Mael states that in the wake of a successful world tour in promotion for ''The Girl Is Crying in Her Latte'', Sparks had begun on their next album, finishing within a six month span.

Promotion and singles

In anticipation for ''Mad!'', Sparks released five attached singles. The first single, "Do Things My Own Way", was released on January 30, 2025, with the music video premiering five days later. The video was directed by Ambar Navarro, who has also worked with artists such as The Lemon Twigs, Weyes Blood, and John Carpenter. In a review of the song for ''Beats Per Minute'', Joshua Pickard praised the effort, stating that it "recalls the idiosyncracies of their early work while also highlighting the more populist sounds of their later releases." Reflecting on the repetition of the lyrics, the song turns "inspiration into an everyday, accessible choice" according to ''Cult Following'' chief editor Ewan Gleadow, who adds that the general message "is a welcome reminder that nostalgia is a crutch."

Sparks released their second single "JanSport Backpack" in February, alongside the announcement of the album's release date, cover, and track listing.

On April 2, 2025, Sparks released their third single "Drowned in a Sea of Tears", followed by another music video directed by Ambar Navarro and starring performer/choreographer Tina Kronis. The song's atypical sincerity is noted in an interview by '' Variety's'' Chris Willman where Ron Mael says that while "We do try to have some level of seriousness below the surface of even the that are humorous, ... in the traditional definition of what sincerity in a song is, this is more that."

In May, the singles "My Devotion" and "A Little Bit of Light Banter", respectively, were released.

Release

''Mad!'' debuted at no. 2 in the UK and no. 1 in both Scotland and the UK independent charts. This represents Sparks' highest chart position in the UK in the band's career, beating their previous record of no. 4 with their 1974 album '' Kimono My House''. The weekly charts, which run every Friday, include an additional midweek chart called the "Official Albums Chart Update", which compiles sales from Friday to Sunday. This had ''Mad!'', without the support of a major record label, reach the top position of no. 1, higher than Sparks' previous record of 2020's ''A Steady Drip, Drip, Drip'' at no. 4.

Critical reception

''Mad!'' received a score of 82/100 on the review aggregator website Metacritic based on 9 critics, which it categorized as "universal acclaim". Another aggregator AnyDecentMusic? gave the album 7.6/10 based on 11 critical reviews.

In a four-star review for ''Mojo'', James McNair said that on the album, the Mael brothers "continue to concoct songs that are distinctively, resolutely Mael. On ''MAD!'', synth-pop, art-rock and a programmed Shostakovich vibe (see paean to Californian interstate highway I-405 Rules) all feed into their skewed, self-contained universe, the arrangements as unpredictable as the subject matter." Robin Murray of '' Clash'' thought the album "seems to represent everything special about this period in their work."

Writing for the magazine ''Record Collector'', Simon Price said "''MAD!'' enters, and attempts to reflect, a world that is mad in both the American (angry) and British (crazy) senses," citing "a new (or renewed) toughness to the sound" on certain tracks that draw comparisons to 1976's ''Big Beat''.
Christopher Hamilton-Peach of ''The Line of Best Fit'' cited "Hit Me Baby" as an example, before concluding "The angular flexes in style and wordplay tied together with Russell’s high wire deployment prove as duly consistent a formula as any of the standout entries in the duo’s crowded discography."

Track listing

Personnel

Credits adapted from the CD liner notes and Tidal.

Sparks

* Ron Mael – keyboards, synthesizers; programming (tracks 1, 3, 6, 8, 10)
* Russell Mael – vocals

Additional musicians

* Max Whipple – bass (1, 3, 4, 6–8, 10–12)
* Eli Pearl – guitar (1, 3, 4, 6, 10–12)
* Evan Weiss – guitar (1, 3, 4, 10–12)
* Stevie Nistor – drums (4, 11, 12)

Technical and design

* Ron Mael – production
* Russell Mael – production, engineering
* Bill Inglot, Dave Schultz – mastering
* Munachi Osegbu – photography
* Galen Johnson – design

Charts

References

{{Sparks

2025 albums
Transgressive Records albums
Sparks (band) albums