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SPARKS

Sparks

The Girl Is Crying In Her Latte

    The Girl Is Crying In Her Latte marks Sparks’ first release on the venerable Island Records label in close to five decades, following such classics as 1974’s landmark Kimono My House, highlighted of course by the indelible hit single ‘This Town Ain’t Big Enough For Both Of Us’. The new album is described by Ron and Russell Mael as a record that is “as bold and uncompromising as anything we did back then or, for that matter, anytime throughout our career.”

    The album includes such instantly intriguing new musical vignettes as ‘Mona Lisa’s Packing, Leaving Late Tonight’ and ‘Nothing Is As Good As They Say It Is’, songs which once again display Sparks’ seemingly ceaseless ability to craft complete, intricately detailed stories within perfect three-and-a-half minute pop masterpieces. Both characteristically timeless and unequivocally modern, The Girl Is Crying In Her Latte once again affirms that, after more than a half century making such masterpieces, Sparks remain inimitable, ingenious and, as ever, utterly one of a kind. 


    STAFF COMMENTS

    Barry says: The sound of Sparks is uniquely theirs, bold pop chorus' and snappy vocal hooks, blooming from subtle and minimalistic to grand and orchestral without batting an eyelid. The title track is particularly enjoyable, showing both innovative groove and classic, Sparks melodies.

    TRACK LISTING

    1. The Girl Is Crying In Her Latte
    2. Veronica Lake
    3. Nothing Is As Good As They Say It Is
    4. Escalator
    5. The Mona Lisa's Packing, Leaving Late Tonight
    6. You Were Meant For Me
    7. Not That Well-Defined
    8. We Go Dancing
    9. When You Leave
    10. Take Me For A Ride
    11. A Love Story
    12. It's Sunny Today
    13. It Doesn't Have To Be That Way
    14. Gee, That Was Fun

    Beachwood Sparks

    Sandbox Sessions

      This 3-song 12” of recently discovered studio recordings from the classic 6 piece Beachwood Sparks line-up just had to be pressed onto vinyl.

      Recorded by Rick Parker at his Sandbox Studios near the beginning of the new millennium, the band had previously worked with Rick for their debut single on Bomp! These recordings capture what was going on in Los Angeles in the late 90s long before the Cosmic American Music revival.

      More than a collectible record, we wanted to release something for the DJs in clubs and on the radio to play...It’s Limited to 500.

      TRACK LISTING

      One Two Three, One Two Three
      Time
      Canyon Ride

      Sparks

      Annette - OST

        On the Milan label - ANNETTE, the much-anticipated new film from LEOS CARAX, is set to open the 74th Cannes Film Festival on 6 July 2021 and will go on general release in France on the same date. Based on an original story and music by Ron and Russell Mael, the brothers behind the flamboyant band SPARX, ANNETTE began life as an (unreleased) album but was transformed into a musical after they met Carax.

        Having successfully maintained a five-decade-long career as one of the world’s most innovative and creative bands, it comes as no surprise that their collaboration with the visionary French director has resulted in a unique piece of film-making. The original soundtrack to ANNETTE, with lyrics co-written by SPARKS and LEOS CARAX and music composed and performed by SPARKS, features vocals from the stars of the film: Adam Driver (Henry), Marion Cotillard (Ann) and Simon Helberg (The Conductor). Produced by SPARKS and Marius de Vries, music director of La La Land and Moulin Rouge! 

        Sparks

        A Steady Drip, Drip, Drip

          Brothers Ron and Russell Mael are releasing their 24th studio album ‘A Steady Drip, Drip, Drip’. Since storming into the charts, minds and airwaves in 1974 with “This Town Ain’t Big Enough For Both of Us” from their 3rd album ‘Kimono My House’, the musically vital pop pioneers have created a unique legacy both on record and in their live performances. ‘A Steady Drip, Drip, Drip’ follows Sparks’ 2017 album ‘Hippopotamus’, an extraordinary record which saw them return to the Top 10 and was universally acclaimed with many critics declaring it to be one of the finest albums of the year and the pinnacle of the band’s career - until now.

          TRACK LISTING

          1. 1 All That
          2. 2 I'm Toast
          3. 3 Lawnmower
          4. 4 Sainthood Is Not In Your Future
          5. 5 Pacific Standard Time
          6. 6 Stravinsky’s Only Hit
          7. 7 Left Out In The Cold
          8. 8 Self-Effacing
          9. 9 One For The Ages
          10. 10 Onomata Pia
          11. 11 IPhone
          12. 12 The Existential Threat
          13. 13 Nothing Is Faster Than The Speed Of Light
          14. 14 Please Don't Fuck Up My World

          Beachwood Sparks

          The Tarnished Gold

            ‘The Tarnished Gold’ is the work of the classic Beachwood Sparks lineup: singer / guitarist Chris Gunst, singer / bassist Brent Rademaker, singer / multi-instrumentalist Farmer Dave Scher, and singer / drummer Aaron Sperske, with invaluable support from guitarist and longtime friend Ben Knight (The Tyde).

            For the sessions, the band expanded to seven pieces, with guitarists Knight and Neal Casal (solo artist and former member of Ryan Adams and The Cardinals), with Dan Horne on pedal steel in place of Scher, who opted to play organ, key, Flying V guitar and electrified melodica. Also lending a hand were Gunst’s wife Jen Cohen, Beachwood Sparks’ very first drummer Jimi Hey, Brent’s brother Darren (leader of The Tyde) and LA indie-rock maestro Ariel Pink. Producer Thom Monahan returned to his familiar spot behind the console.

            The world has caught up with Beachwood Sparks since they came out of nowhere in 2000 with their self-titled debut album, bringing new life to what Gram Parsons famously described as “cosmic American music”, and recapturing LA’s laidback but vibrant heyday back in the late 60s and early 70s. At the time, this kind of harmony-rich, irony-free music was rare.

            After their second album, 2002’s trippier ‘Once We Were Trees’, and the decidedly offbeat 2003 EP ‘Make The Cowboy Robots Cry’, Beachwood Sparks called it quits. But during the subsequent half decade, the indie music scene began to change with the appearance and wholesale acceptance of multi-voiced throwback groups from Fleet Foxes to Bon Iver to Grizzly Bear.

            STAFF COMMENTS

            Andy says: A band that splits up for ten years and comes back with the best thing they've ever done? Beachwood Sparks break the Rules Of Rock with this beautiful album.

            The Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra & Tra-La-La Band

            Born Into Trouble As The Sparks Fly Upward - 2022 Repress

              Second album that finds the band expanded to a six member core. The addition of cello, second violin and second guitar has allowed them to develop a much broader sound with more vocals and guitar. Think of a sound somewhere between Godspeed.., Spiritualized and Rachels. Fantastic stuff!!!!!


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