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May 16, 2017 By Christopher Roberts Sparks

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Eccentric Los Angeles legends Sparks (brothers Ron and Russell Mael) are releasing a new album, Hippopotamus, on September 8 via The End Records. Previously they shared a video for its title track. Now here’s a video for another song from the album, “What the Hell Is It This Time?” The song posits that God gets a little tired of people over-praying to him all the time for trivial things (“I have millions to serve/You get on my nerves”). In the video the brothers are in black & white as they are bombarded by the song’s lyrics, as well as fire. Watch it below, followed by the band’s tour dates.

In a press release, Ron Mael says “What the Hell Is It This Time?” is “an often uttered phrase when people listen to a new Sparks song.” Hippopotamus is Sparks’ first studio album in eight years, since 2009’s The Seduction of Ingmar Bergman. Although in 2015 Sparks teamed up with Scotland’s Franz Ferdinand as FFS and released their self-titled debut album.

Sparks Tour Dates:

08-07 Copenhagen, Denmark - Vega Theater
08-08 Oslo, Norway - Rockefeller
08-10 Stockholm, Sweden - Cirkus
08-12 Helsinki, Finland - Flow Festival
09-11 Prague, Czech Republic - Lucerna Music Bar
09-12 Berlin, Germany - Columbia Theatre
09-14 The Hague, Netherlands - Paard van Troje
09-15 Luxembourg, Luxembourg - Den Atelier
09-16 Brussels, Belgium - Ancienne Belgique
09-20 Edinburgh, Scotland - Queens Hall
09-22 Manchester, England - O2 Ritz
09-23 Nottingham, England - Rock City
09-24 Birmingham, England - O2 Institute 1
09-26 Bristol, England - O2 Academy
09-27 London, England - O2 Shepherds Bush Empire

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