Sparks singer Russell Mael has revealed his band are working on a new studio album.
The American duo, formed in the late-1960s by Mael and his brother, keyboard player Ron, released their first live album as a full band in Live On The Moon earlier this month, and put out their 28th studio album just last year, but are already planning a follow-up.
Challenge to stay fresh
Mael, 77, told the Press Association: “We’re starting to work on a new album.
“For us it’s just a challenge at this point in our career to do something that is still really strong and special, and fresh sounding, but still retaining the essence of what you are, what Sparks is, and so that’s the the challenge now musically.
“And so we’re up for that challenge because we think we’ve never been lazy, and … we don’t want to have the luxury of kind of just resting on our past, and we don’t want to have that resting on our past (to make us think), ‘oh, come out with another album and it’ll be fine because you have an audience’.
“We want it to be something where people think it’s what you’re doing now doesn’t sound like a band with a 28-album long career, so that’s the real challenge for what’s upcoming.”
Uncertain sound direction
Asked what the album would sound like, Mael added that “we kind of don’t even know ourselves”.
He continued: “You kind of after the fact get an idea of what it is, but when you’re doing it, we don’t really have an idea of where it’s really headed.
“We do a song, we want it to sound exciting for ourselves, or else it’s just not worth bothering, because it’s a lot of work and a lot of effort, and time put into it, and so if it isn’t something you think is really cool, then we don’t want to be doing it.”
Legacy and upcoming dates
Sparks are one of the most influential bands of all time, with Taylor Swift producer Jack Antonoff saying in Edgar Wright’s 2021 The Sparks Brothers documentary that “all pop music is rearranged Sparks”.
They have had three UK top 10 singles and six top 10 albums, and their best-known songs include This Town Ain’t Big Enough For Both Of Us, The Number One Song In Heaven and Amateur Hour.
Sparks Live On The Moon is out now, with the band also due to reissue 1986’s Music That You Can Dance To on October 30.
The duo are also performing a number of UK dates this year including at Green Man Festival, York Barbican and Southend’s Cliffs Pavilion.
