Readers of this site know that I like smart music and usually shun clever music. There's a difference, of course. And I think the new album from Sparks skirts dangerously close to being too cute and clever for its own good in spots. That said, no one wants to be the dick who gave Sparks a bad review, nor does anyone want to only focus on the weaker, needier bits on an otherwise fine record. Sparks are far too talented to not deserve some substantial levels of praise. A Steady Drip, Drip, Drip, out today via BMG, is nothing if not inventive, and only fans who are familiar with the group's early Seventies work have any right to level any criticisms at this legendary band.
"All That" and "Pacific Standard Time" are lush bits of orchestral pop, for lack of a better term, even considering that the orchestras are likely samples, while "Self-Effacing" sounds like Blur and Pulp a bit. It's one of the better songs here, and one of the ones that isn't trying too hard to please. "Onamota Pia" -- see what I mean? -- wastes some lovely arrangements on a song that's too cute for its own good, while "iPhone" is an old man's rant about 10 years too late to make any difference. These songs offer up observational lyrics that aren't particularly fresh, and rarely do the words provoke a smile or a chuckle. However, "Nothing Travels Faster than the Speed of Light" and "Please Don't Fuck Up My World" are elegant and sharp, the opposite of the chirpy silliness that permeates parts of this record. These two songs are so good, in fact, that one can almost overlook lots of the other material here that doesn't land quite so definitively.
Rarely did I hear anything on A Steady Drip, Drip, Drip and feel like it was worth holding up side-by-side next to any of the best Mael singles from four decades ago. Rather, I felt myself thinking of the weaker songs from the more recent Divine Comedy albums. Like hearing those releases, while listening to this one I sometimes felt like I was hearing someone show off in the hopes of appearing relevant again. What I'd rather have heard, and what I did at least hear a bit here, was an artist putting out beautifully composed alt-rock that managed to be smart, not cute. If only there was more of that here.
A Steady Drip, Drip, Drip is out today via BMG.
More details on Sparks via the official website.
[Photo: Big Hassle Media]