Mad!

During a ceremony at the 2024 AIM Independent Music Awards in which Sparks received the honors of Outstanding Contribution to Music, bandmates Ron and Russell Mael took the opportunity to announce that they had signed to Transgressive Records for a new record.{{Cite web |last=Duran |first=Anagricel |date=October 18, 2024 |title=Sparks announce signing to Transgressive Records |url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/sparks-announce-signing-to-transgressive-records-3804191 |access-date=March 9, 2025 |website=NME |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250503014516/https://www.nme.com/news/music/sparks-announce-signing-to-transgressive-records-3804191 |archive-date=May 3, 2025}} This follows a continuous period of chart success for the Mael brothers, with Hippopotamus (2017), A Steady Drip, Drip, Drip (2020), and The Girl Is Crying in Her Latte (2023) all peaking at no. 7 on the UK albums chart, the highest position since Kimono My House peaked at no. 4 in 1974.

Their first album of original material since leaving Island Records, the second time since Big Beat in 1976, Mad! also follows the self-released Annette – An Opera by Sparks (The Original 2013 Recordings) in 2024. In an interview for Mojo magazine, vocalist Russell Mael states that in the wake of a successful world tour in promotion for The Girl Is Crying in Her Latte, Sparks had begun on their next album, finishing within a six month span.{{Cite web |last=Harrison |first=Ian |date=July 22, 2024 |title=Sparks: 'It's a disservice to pop music to come out with stuff that isn't cool.' |url=https://www.mojo4music.com/articles/stories/sparks-its-a-disservice-to-pop-music/ |access-date=March 5, 2025 |website=Mojo |language=en |archive-date=March 7, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250307014423/https://www.mojo4music.com/articles/stories/sparks-its-a-disservice-to-pop-music/ |url-status=live }}

In anticipation for Mad!, Sparks released five attached singles. The first single, "Do Things My Own Way", was released on January 30, 2025, with the music video premiering five days later. The video was directed by Ambar Navarro, who has also worked with artists such as The Lemon Twigs,{{Cite web |last=Skinner |first=Tom |date=February 14, 2023 |title=The Lemon Twigs announce fourth album 'Everything Harmony', share new single 'Any Time Of Day' |url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/the-lemon-twigs-announce-fourth-album-everything-harmony-release-new-single-any-time-of-day-listen-preorder-3398134 |access-date=March 9, 2025 |website=NME |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250312061018/https://www.nme.com/news/music/the-lemon-twigs-announce-fourth-album-everything-harmony-release-new-single-any-time-of-day-listen-preorder-3398134 |archive-date=March 12, 2025}} Weyes Blood,{{Cite web |last=Corcoran |first=Nina |date=September 18, 2023 |title=Watch Weyes Blood's New Video for 'Twin Flame' |url=https://pitchfork.com/news/watch-weyes-bloods-new-video-for-twin-flame/ |access-date=March 9, 2025 |website=Pitchfork |archive-date=April 15, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240415220420/https://pitchfork.com/news/watch-weyes-bloods-new-video-for-twin-flame/ |url-status=live }} and John Carpenter.{{Cite web |last=Johnson |first=Christopher |date=March 7, 2024 |title=John Carpenter Announces 'Lost Themes IV: Noir' |url=https://www.wecb.fm/john-carpenter-announces-lost-themes-iv-noir/ |access-date=March 9, 2025 |website=WECB |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250312141900/https://www.wecb.fm/john-carpenter-announces-lost-themes-iv-noir/ |archive-date=March 12, 2025}} In a review of the song for Beats Per Minute, Joshua Pickard praised the effort, stating that it "recalls the idiosyncracies of their early work while also highlighting the more populist sounds of their later releases."{{Cite web |last=Pickard |first=Joshua |date=February 4, 2025 |title=Sparks bring awareness to the dangers of falling pianos in their video for 'Do Things My Own Way' |url=https://beatsperminute.com/sparks-bring-awareness-to-the-dangers-of-falling-pianos-in-their-video-for-do-things-my-own-way/ |access-date=March 9, 2025 |website=Beats Per Minute |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250312143815/https://beatsperminute.com/sparks-bring-awareness-to-the-dangers-of-falling-pianos-in-their-video-for-do-things-my-own-way/ |archive-date=March 12, 2025}} Reflecting on the repetition of the lyrics, the song turns "inspiration into an everyday, accessible choice" according to Cult Following chief editor Ewan Gleadow, who adds that the general message "is a welcome reminder that nostalgia is a crutch."{{Cite web |last=Gleadow |first=Ewan |date=January 30, 2025 |title=Sparks – Do Things My Own Way Review |url=https://cultfollowing.co.uk/2025/01/30/sparks-do-things-my-own-way-review/ |access-date=March 9, 2025 |publisher=Cult Following |archive-date=January 30, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250130195823/https://cultfollowing.co.uk/2025/01/30/sparks-do-things-my-own-way-review/ |url-status=live }}

Sparks released their second single "JanSport Backpack" in February, alongside the announcement of the album's release date, cover, and track listing.

On April 2, 2025, Sparks released their third single "Drowned in a Sea of Tears", followed by another music video directed by Ambar Navarro and starring performer/choreographer Tina Kronis. The song's atypical sincerity is noted in an interview by Variety's Chris Willman where Ron Mael says that while "We do try to have some level of seriousness below the surface of even the {{sic|song}} that are humorous, ... in the traditional definition of what sincerity in a song is, this is more that."

In May, the singles "My Devotion" and "A Little Bit of Light Banter", respectively, were released.

Mad! debuted at no. 2 in the UK and no. 1 in both Scotland and the UK independent charts. This represents Sparks' highest chart position in the UK in the band's career, beating their previous record of no. 4 with their 1974 album Kimono My House. The weekly charts, which run every Friday,{{cite web | website=Official Charts Company | title=About | url=https://www.officialcharts.com/about/ | access-date=May 31, 2025}} include an additional midweek chart called the "Official Albums Chart Update", which compiles sales from Friday to Sunday.{{cite web | website=Official Charts Company | title=Official Albums Chart Update: 25 May 2025 – 31 May 2025 | url=https://www.officialcharts.com/charts/albums-chart-update/20250526/7502u/ | access-date=May 31, 2025}} This had Mad!, without the support of a major record label, reach the top position of no. 1, higher than Sparks' previous record of 2020's A Steady Drip, Drip, Drip at no. 4.

{{Music ratings

| ADM = 7.6/10{{cite web | url=http://www.anydecentmusic.com/review/14316/Sparks-MAD.aspx | title=Sparks – MAD!| publisher=Any Decent Music? | access-date=May 30, 2025}}

| MC = 82/100{{cite web | url=https://www.metacritic.com/music/mad!/sparks | title=MAD! by Sparks | publisher=Metacritic | access-date=May 30, 2025}}

| rev1 = AllMusic

| rev1score = {{Rating|3.5|5}}{{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/mad%21-mw0004481503|title=Mad! – Sparks|first=Heather|last=Phares|publisher=AllMusic|date=May 23, 2025|accessdate=May 23, 2025}}

| rev2 = Clash

| rev2score = 8/10{{cite magazine | magazine=Clash | title=Sparks – MAD! – A glorious return from the art-pop brothers... | last=Murray | first=Robin | date=May 22, 2025 | url=https://www.clashmusic.com/reviews/sparks-mad/ | access-date=May 22, 2025}}

| rev3 = The Line of Best Fit

| rev3score = 8/10{{cite web | website=The Line of Best Fit | title=Sparks continue toying with creative flourishes on MAD! | last=Hamilton-Peach | first=Christopher | date=May 22, 2025 | url=https://www.thelineofbestfit.com/albums/sparks-mad-continue-toying-creative-flourishes | access-date=May 22, 2025}}

| rev4 = Louder Than War

| rev4score = {{Rating|4|5}}{{cite web | website=Louder Than War | title=Sparks: MAD! – Album Review | last=Plummer | first=Robert | date=May 23, 2025 | url=https://louderthanwar.com/sparks-mad-album-review/ | access-date=May 23, 2025}}

| rev5 = Mojo

| rev5score = {{Rating|4|5}}{{cite magazine | magazine=Mojo | title=Sparks: MAD! – Their 28th studio album! How mad is that? | last=McNair | first=James | date=May 8, 2025 | issue=380 | page=79}}

| rev6 = MusicOMH

| rev6score = {{Rating|4|5}}{{cite web | website=musicOMH | title=Sparks – MAD! | last=Murphy | first=John | date=May 22, 2025 | url=https://www.musicomh.com/reviews/albums/sparks-mad | access-date=May 22, 2025}}

| rev7 = Paste

| rev7score = 7.6/10{{cite magazine | magazine=Paste | title=Sparks Blend Maximalism and Satire on MAD! | last=Teder | first=Camryn | date=May 23, 2025 | url=https://www.pastemagazine.com/music/sparks/sparks-blend-maximalism-and-satire-on-mad | access-date=May 23, 2025}}

| rev8 = PopMatters

| rev8score = 7/10{{cite web | website=PopMatters | title=Sparks Refuse to Sit on Their Laurels with 'Mad!' | last=Lyng | first=Eoghan | date=May 21, 2025 | access-date=May 22, 2025 | url=https://www.popmatters.com/sparks-mad-review}}

| rev9 = Record Collector

| rev9score = {{Rating|5|5}}{{cite magazine | magazine=Record Collector | title=MAD! {{pipe}} Sparks | last=Price | first=Simon | author-link=Simon Price | date=May 19, 2025 | url=https://recordcollectormag.com/reviews/album/mad | issue=571 | access-date=May 20, 2025}}

| rev10 = The Telegraph

| rev10score = {{Rating|5|5}}{{cite magazine | magazine=The Telegraph | title=Sparks, Mad!, review: eccentric brilliance with pearls of wisdom | last=Perry | first=Andrew | date=May 23, 2025 | url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/music/news/sparks-mad-album-review/ | access-date=May 23, 2025}}

}}

Mad! received a score of 82/100 on the review aggregator website Metacritic based on 9 critics, which it categorized as "universal acclaim". Another aggregator AnyDecentMusic? gave the album 7.6/10 based on 11 critical reviews.

In a four-star review for Mojo, James McNair said that on the album, the Mael brothers "continue to concoct songs that are distinctively, resolutely Mael. On MAD!, synth-pop, art-rock and a programmed Shostakovich vibe (see paean to Californian interstate highway I-405 Rules) all feed into their skewed, self-contained universe, the arrangements as unpredictable as the subject matter." Robin Murray of Clash thought the album "seems to represent everything special about this period in their work."

Writing for the magazine Record Collector, Simon Price said "MAD! enters, and attempts to reflect, a world that is mad in both the American (angry) and British (crazy) senses," citing "a new (or renewed) toughness to the sound" on certain tracks that draw comparisons to 1976's Big Beat.

Christopher Hamilton-Peach of The Line of Best Fit cited "Hit Me Baby" as an example, before concluding "The angular flexes in style and wordplay tied together with Russell’s high wire deployment prove as duly consistent a formula as any of the standout entries in the duo’s crowded discography."

{{Track listing

| width = 50%

| headline = Mad! track listing

| all_writing = Ron and Russell Mael

| total_length = 45:45

| title1 = Do Things My Own Way

| length1 = 3:40

| title2 = JanSport Backpack

| length2 = 4:13

| title3 = Hit Me, Baby

| length3 = 3:44

| title4 = Running Up a Tab at the Hotel for the Fab

| length4 = 4:21

| title5 = My Devotion

| length5 = 4:19

| title6 = Don't Dog It

| length6 = 3:19

| title7 = In Daylight

| length7 = 4:11

| title8 = I-405 Rules

| length8 = 3:22

| title9 = A Long Red Light

| length9 = 3:03

| title10 = Drowned in a Sea of Tears

| length10 = 3:21

| title11 = A Little Bit of Light Banter

| length11 = 3:30

| title12 = Lord Have Mercy

| length12 = 4:42

}}

Credits adapted from the CD liner notes{{cite AV media notes | title=MAD! | last=Sparks | author-link=Sparks (band) | year=2025 | publisher=Transgressive | type=CD liner notes | id=TRANS850CD}} and Tidal.{{cite web |title=MAD! / Sparks / Credits |url=https://listen.tidal.com/album/414875996/credits |publisher=Tidal |access-date=May 24, 2025 |date=May 23, 2025}}

• Ron Mael – keyboards, synthesizers; programming (tracks 1, 3, 6, 8, 10)
• Russell Mael – vocals

• Max Whipple – bass (1, 3, 4, 6–8, 10–12)
• Eli Pearl – guitar (1, 3, 4, 6, 10–12)
• Evan Weiss – guitar (1, 3, 4, 10–12)
• Stevie Nistor – drums (4, 11, 12)

• Ron Mael – production
• Russell Mael – production, engineering
• Bill Inglot, Dave Schultz – mastering
• Munachi Osegbu – photography
• Galen Johnson – design

{{reflist}}

{{Sparks}}

Category:2025 albums

Category:Transgressive Records albums

Category:Sparks (band) albums