Madder!

Description

After conquering the world with their 28th studio album MAD!, the eternally-creative Ron and Russell Mael are releasing the first EP of their illustrious career.

"Not wanting the Mad!ness to end and buoyed by the phenomenal reaction to MAD!, we made a hasty but intense retreat to the studio to record a Sparks first: an EP," say the band. "MADDER!, a four-song companion piece to the album, is for everyone who isn't yet MAD! enough. We hope these new songs will take you to an even MADDER! place."

The first single from the MADDER! EP, released on September 2, will be 'Porcupine', a song of a guy's fascination with a woman who possesses, shall we say, a prickly personality, all to a verse with a highly infectious organ riff that yields to heavy guitars in the choruses. "She's a porcupine," Russell croons---a metaphor or something more troubling?

The other tracks on the EP are 'Fantasize', 'Mess Up' and 'They', and the new material is in the pioneering spirit of the MAD! album, which was greeted with rave reviews, including five-star ratings from Record Collector ("...further proof of genius") and the Daily Telegraph ("The gold standard for left field pop").

Sparks' recent European tour, with the usual eclectic selection of the Mael brothers' work, set against a stunning production, has also been an unqualified success, with Louder Than War describing the show as "a hundred minutes of energetic, thrilling pop songs spanning half a century" and Classic Rock Magazine writing "Wit, pathos and brutality....a hugely thrilling injection of joy and power".

Description

After conquering the world with their 28th studio album MAD!, the eternally-creative Ron and Russell Mael are releasing the first EP of their illustrious career.

"Not wanting the Mad!ness to end and buoyed by the phenomenal reaction to MAD!, we made a hasty but intense retreat to the studio to record a Sparks first: an EP," say the band. "MADDER!, a four-song companion piece to the album, is for everyone who isn't yet MAD! enough. We hope these new songs will take you to an even MADDER! place."

The first single from the MADDER! EP, released on September 2, will be 'Porcupine', a song of a guy's fascination with a woman who possesses, shall we say, a prickly personality, all to a verse with a highly infectious organ riff that yields to heavy guitars in the choruses. "She's a porcupine," Russell croons---a metaphor or something more troubling?

The other tracks on the EP are 'Fantasize', 'Mess Up' and 'They', and the new material is in the pioneering spirit of the MAD! album, which was greeted with rave reviews, including five-star ratings from Record Collector ("...further proof of genius") and the Daily Telegraph ("The gold standard for left field pop").

Sparks' recent European tour, with the usual eclectic selection of the Mael brothers' work, set against a stunning production, has also been an unqualified success, with Louder Than War describing the show as "a hundred minutes of energetic, thrilling pop songs spanning half a century" and Classic Rock Magazine writing "Wit, pathos and brutality....a hugely thrilling injection of joy and power".

Description

First ever EP release from Sparks, MADDER! is a companion to their record-breaking 28th studio album MAD!, which gave them their career-best UK chart position (#2, May 2025). The EP follows on the tail of their rapturously received tours of Europe and Japan, and is announced just ahead of their North American dates. Released on CD, black 10" vinyl and limited edition 10" picture disc.