News
A Steady Drip, Drip, Drip Out Now via BMG
Jul 06, 2020
By Samantha Small
Los Angeles brother duo, Sparks ( Ron and Russell Mael) released a new album, A Steady Drip, Drip, Drip, in May via BMG. To follow in the fun, they recently shared a wacky video for track “Existential Threat.” Watch the video below. More
A Steady Drip, Drip, Drip Due Out May 15 via BMG
May 18, 2020
By Christopher Roberts
Los Angeles legends Sparks (brothers Ron and Russell Mael) released a new album, A Steady Drip, Drip, Drip, last Friday via BMG. Now that the album’s out you can stream the whole thing below. They also recently shared a typically amusing video for the album’s “Lawnmower." More
A Steady Drip, Drip, Drip Due Out May 15 via BMG
Feb 19, 2020
By Christopher Roberts
Los Angeles legends Sparks (brothers Ron and Russell Mael) are releasing a new album, A Steady Drip, Drip, Drip, on May 15 via BMG. Now they have shared another song from it, "Self-Effacing," via a lyric video for it. They have also revealed the album's tracklist. More
A Steady Drip, Drip, Drip Due Out May 15 via BMG; Watch Quirky Announcement Video
Jan 28, 2020
By Christopher Roberts
Los Angeles legends Sparks (brothers Ron and Russell Mael) have announced a new album, A Steady Drip, Drip, Drip. There are also other exciting 2020 projects in the works for the duo, including a documentary on the band directed by British auteur Edgar Wright (Shaun of the Dead, Baby Driver) and a musical film, Annette, directed by Leos Carax (Holy Motors) and starring Adam Driver and Marion Cotillard. More
Issue 62 Also Includes Interviews with Courtney Barnett and Kurt Vile, The Horrors, Wolf Alice, Jessie Ware, King Krule, and Much More
Oct 20, 2017
By Christopher Roberts
Under the Radar is excited to announce the full details of our Fall 2017 Issue, which is out now digitally via Under the Radar's app and the magazine app Readly. The print version has shipped out to subscribers and stores and will be on all newsstands soon (as well as available soon digitally via the magazine app Zinio). The issue features Julien Baker on the cover. More
Hippopotamus Due Out September 8 via The End Records
Jul 28, 2017
By Christopher Roberts
Eccentric Los Angeles legends Sparks (brothers Ron and Russell Mael) are releasing a new album, Hippopotamus, on September 8 via The End Records. More
Hippopotamus Due Out September 8 via The End Records
May 16, 2017
By Christopher Roberts
Eccentric Los Angeles legends Sparks (brothers Ron and Russell Mael) are releasing a new album, Hippopotamus, on September 8 via The End Records. More
Hippopotamus Due Out September 8
Mar 28, 2017
By Christopher Roberts
Los Angeles legends Sparks have announced a new album, Hippopotamus, and shared a video for its title track. The album is due out September 8. More
Single to Be Released December 4
Nov 20, 2015
By Christopher Roberts
Los Angeles legends Sparks have kept busy in 2015 with FFS, their collaboration with Scotland's Franz Ferdinand that released their self-titled debut album back in June via Domino. But they've also found time to record a new holiday song, "Christmas Without a Prayer." More
Oct 15, 2015
By Christopher Roberts
FFS, the collaboration between Scotland's Franz Ferdinand and Los Angeles legends Sparks, released their self-titled debut album back in June via Domino and it's really one of the best records from a super-group in recent memory, seamlessly blending both artists' sounds into something new and exciting. More
Yes, I’m a Witch Too Due Out January 22, 2016
Jul 29, 2015
By Christopher Roberts
Yoko Ono has announced a new album. It's not due out until January 22, 2016 (is this the first notable album to get a confirmed 2016 release date?) and it's titled Yes, I'm a Witch Too, making it the sequel 2007's Yes, I'm a Witch. Like that record, this one is a collaborative album. Every song is a collaboration between Ono and a different artist. This one includes collaborations with Death Cab for Cutie, tUnE-yArDs, Sparks, Peter Bjorn and John, Cibo Matto, Portugal the Man, Miike Snow, Penguin Prison, and of course her son, Sean Lennon, among others. More
FFS Out Tomorrow via Domino
Jun 08, 2015
By Christopher Roberts
FFS, the collaboration between Scotland's Franz Ferdinand and Los Angeles legends Sparks, are releasing their self-titled debut album tomorrow via Domino and now we have the video for "Piss Off." More
FFS Out June 9 via Domino
May 28, 2015
By Christopher Roberts
FFS, the collaboration between Scotland's Franz Ferdinand and Los Angeles legends Sparks, have shared a new single entitled "Call Girl." It's the latest song to be revealed from their self-titled debut album, which is due out June 9 via Domino. More
FFS Out June 9 via Domino
May 20, 2015
By Christopher Roberts
FFS is a collaboration between Scotland's Franz Ferdinand and Los Angeles legends Sparks. It's an inspired matchup to be sure and seems to work based on what we've heard so far. Their self-titled debut album is out June 9 via Domino and now we have the video for "Johnny Delusional." More
Listen to New Song "Piss Off"
Apr 01, 2015
By Trevor Flynn
Glasgow, Scotland-based rock band Franz Ferdinand has joined forces with legendary Los Angeles duo Sparks to form the super-group FFS, announcing the release of their self-titled debut, due out June 9 via via Domino Records. More
"Anything by Katy Perry scares the hell out of me." - Sparks' Russell Mael
Oct 28, 2013
By Mark Redfern
We sent out the same set of Halloween-related questions to a bunch of different musicians. All Halloween week we are posting their responses. Here are some spooky answers from Sparks, Wooden Shjips, White Hills, Audacity, and His Clancyness. More
Interviews
Nov 27, 2017
By Matt Fink
After 45 years and 25 albums, Sparks' multi-instrumentalist Ron Mael admits that writing songs is no easier now than it was when he started making music in Los Angeles in 1968 with his little brother, Russell. More
Nov 03, 2015
By Matt Fink
FFS—an acronym meaning "For Fuck's Sake" in text lingo—is what many people probably thought when they heard that Scottish indie rockers Franz Ferdinand and Los Angeles art-pop legends Sparks were attempting to join together in one band under that moniker. Or at least that's what Franz Ferdinand vocalist and songwriter Alex Kapranos suspects, a possibility that seems to please him to no end. More
"Anything by Katy Perry scares the hell out of me." - Sparks' Russell Mael
Oct 28, 2013
By Mark Redfern
We sent out the same set of Halloween-related questions to a bunch of different musicians. All Halloween week we are posting their responses. Here are some spooky answers from Sparks, Wooden Shjips, White Hills, Audacity, and His Clancyness. More
Reviews
Sep 04, 2017
By Joseph Ragusa
Fewer and fewer living artists today can claim to be songwriting men-of-all-seasons like brothers Ron and Russell Mael, the creative force behind Sparks. With a career spanning 46 years and almost two dozen genre-bending studio albums, you'd have to turn to the likes of David Bowie to find a musical approach more chameleon-like. More
New Music for Amnesiacs: The Ultimate Collection
Lil' Beethoven
Nov 29, 2013
By Hays Davis
At the very least, the brothers Ron and Russell Mael, otherwise known as Sparks, deserve a trophy for perseverance. Over the course of more than four decades, Sparks' artistic evolution has been intriguing, even if that meant denting the Billboard charts only occasionally. More