Sparks / Hello Young Lovers

In The Red

On their incomparable new album, Sparks protest predictability, obliterate the ordinary and demand utmost respect. Hello Young Lovers is cinematic, bold, and lyrically liberal, with moments of sheer beauty, dissonance and harmony. It may not win a Grammy, but an Oscar’s not out of the question. Never, never, has there been an auditory assault of such magnitude presented in the realm of pop music. When SparksÕ last album Lil’Beethoven hit the streets critics lauded and applauded, fans smiled smugly with overdue vindication and fellow musicians wept when faced with the reality that, once again, Sparks had raised the bar by which all other albums should be judged. Now the Angeleno brothers, Ron and Russell Mael present Hello Young Lovers, their twentieth album. To achieve such enormity and expansiveness they worked in a limitless vacuum for the best part of eighteen months. The only inspiration taken from any current music was the provocation to go as far as possible in the opposite direction. When writing and recording Lil’ Beethoven, Sparks broke the rules, but in creating Hello Young Lovers the rule book has been thrown away.  Once again, the Angelenos are joined by Tammy Glover on drums and guitarist Dean Menta with special guests Jim Wilson on guitar and Steve McDonald on bass. The resulting album is an extraordinary masterpiece.

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