Sparks most recent music, 2002 - today, has a sense of the horrific, dread, and fun. The music feels like a horror soundtrack at times, and when I listen to it with headphones, I can feel my heart race in a slight fight or flight response. I get an overall feeling of anticipation. Kind of like when you are watching a horror film and you know that the killer is about to jump out and get the sexually active couple. BUT, the songs don't usually have the zinger. Most of them are all build-up (which is not a bad thing). I mean it when I say "most," because some have BIG zingers. Some are silly. Some are extremely intelligent. Some are stating the obvious (and beating it into you...pleasurably).
With their repetitious sounds and voices, a lot of the material can come off as annoying to some people. This happened to me for about 20 minutes during my first listen of "Lil' Beethoven."
Most of the songs are an audio delight full of rich instrumentation. Some of the songs feel like they should be well known classical pieces, which have been slightly warped.
The Mael brothers have created soundscapes that you can dig through. One version of "Lil' Beethoven" comes with a couple of bonus tracks. One of which is the instrumental version of "The Rhythm Thief." This version of the song strips away the voice layers (most of them anyway), and you can hear all the beauty that is behind this song. Russell Mael's sings normally, but he also does vocals that sound like beatnik poetry reading, sometimes chanting, and many times his vocals are strictly there for rhythm and beat (with single repeated words or phrases). He even does some call & answer stuff with himself (using multiple voice tracks). His falsetto is beautiful. At times his layered voices can feel like an elaborate Queen track.
They are not "Politically Correct," and they don't care. They can be extremely cheesy, with no apologies. They are not in the music business to make hits. They are in it to have fun and possibly to share their ideas. I like music that is a little weird and fun. Adam Ant, Ween, They Might Be Giants, etc… and Sparks fits right in.
My first Sparks experience was "Eaten By the Monster of Love" from the 1983 film "Valley Girl" (and from the 1982 Sparks album "Angst in My Pants"). I loved the song and never knew who sang it. They had some hits, like "Cool Places" with Jane Wiedlin of The Go-Go's, and they are related to the Gleaming Spires who did the song "Are You Ready for the Sex Girls?" from "Revenge of the Nerds." I never really knew them even though they had over 15 albums by 2000. My next experience was 2002's "Lil' Beethoven." A virtually drum-free album (there are kettle drums and actual drums in some songs). The song "The Rhythm Thief" is a HUGE favorite of mine. After I bought it, I sat and listened to the album once all the way through. Mixed emotions filled me… with a lot of, "That is pretty cool," moments, and, "What is with all the repetition?" moments. I eventually convinced myself that I really liked it, and I listened to it with friends and relatives. I got a lot of "You are weird, Robert," reactions, but they couldn't deny that there was true beauty in the weirdness that is Sparks' "Lil' Beethoven." "Hello Young Lovers" and their most recent album, "Exotic Creatures Of The Deep," feel like a part 2 and part 3 of "Lil' Beethoven" in many ways. They are really good sequels, and they go in different directions then "Lil' Beethoven". They are not equal, but they are not bad either.
Their current MySpace page seems to have a virus on it. I would guess that it is embedded in a comment that someone has left on there, but it might also just NOT be an "official" page. I recommend their REAL official page and their set of Wikipedia pages to find out more information. Do yourself a favor and get Lil' Beethoven. It is an important album.
http://www.allsparks.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sparks_%28band%29