And from something that feels like a new thrill to original Pop Pioneers Sparks, something of an advertisement for healthy Californian living in 2023. Fifty years on the stage and still feeling as quirky and alive with invention as they ever did, more than 25 albums in.
They seem to be permanently in the spotlight at the minute, wherever you look on the Pop pages, and no-one has ever quite deserved acclaim and the multiple curtain call they're getting right now as richly as the Mael brothers . They're truly getting the third act they so richly deserve which American Life generally refuses so many to quote the late Scott F.
Latest record The Girl is Crying in Her Latte, is slightly patchy, there are early songs that come across as more irritating than innovative, let's face it Sparks always had the tendency of coming across as slightly faddy, even though they also exuded Pop Genius at one and the same time. The brand that kept on reinventing itself and giving new, surprising Birthday Gifts.
So persevere here. There's plenty to marvel at still. They're still your favourite eccentric uncles round for tea and still as odd as ever, still dancing to one's tune but their own. A last track entitled Gee That Was Fun this time as if they're aware that this might be their last spin at the wheel, and they're keen to write their own epitaph. It would still be no surprise though to see their immediately recognisable heads pop up on the new releases and touring schedules a couple of years down the line.
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