Sparks, brothers Ron and Russell Mael, make their opening gambit for 2025 with the release of ‘Do Things My Own Way’. A teaser for their 28th studio album, MAD! – due this year on new label home, Transgressive Records. The single also functions as something of a manifesto for the Maels – Sparks are a band who have always, always done things their own way. Sparks say, “Our mantra since 1972, amplified in 2025.”
Fresh and futuristic, ostinato electro riffs bounce with restless abandon. Oscillating widescreen soundscapes swell as they sing in powerful, staccato tones: ” Gonna run, gonna fly, gonna, do things my own way” as the polyphonic jagged textures swirl and swell in thrilling sonic explosions with enough frisson to light up a continent.
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Whilst further details about the album remain under wraps, fans can look forward to the MAD! Tour. Having wowed audiences and critics alike on their 2023 tour – including sold out shows at London’s Royal Albert Hall (two) and Sydney Opera House, a hometown triumph at Hollywood Bowl, and a headlines-stealing set at Glastonbury Festival –
Sparks will be returning to the live stage this June kicking off with the Japanese, UK and European legs of their world tour. Tickets go on general sale on Friday 7th February. UK fans can unlock a presale by ordering the album CD here www.allsparks.com
Sparks have been making music together across seven different decades and continue to be fresh innovative and inspirational. While most acts would be riding the nostalgia train, Sparks are in a league of their own and are more creative and ground-breaking than ever.
If anything, their rate of productivity has sped up in recent years: since the millennium the duo have released eight new studio albums, a radio opera (The Seduction Of Ingmar Bergman), a side-project (Franz Ferdinand collaboration, ‘FFS’), a live album, a film musical (2021’s Annette, which won a ‘Best Director’ award at Cannes for Leos Carax and the ‘Best Original Score’ at the César Awards for the Maels), toured the world numerous times, and been the subject of The Sparks Brothers, an acclaimed documentary by Edgar Wright. They live and breathe creativity and if you want to watch these peerless modernist maestros in action be sure to grab tickets for their upcoming tour and keep an eye out for their upcoming album MAD.
Tickets for their June/ July MAD tour go on general sale on Friday 7th February. UK fans can unlock a presale by ordering the album CD here.
