Last month, Sparks shared the new song “Do Things My Own Way” and announced that they’d soon be releasing a new album called Mad! Now, brothers Ron and Russell Mael have revealed the details of their follow-up to 2023’s The Girl Is Crying in Her Latte. The new album is out May 23, via Transgressive, and includes today’s new single, “JanSport Backpack,” a quirky pop track about fading love as remembered through a faithful, but worn-down, backpack. Listen to that track below.
This summer, Sparks will hit the road for a proper tour in support of the album. After a show on June 8, in Kyoto, Japan, the Mael brothers will perform concerts in England, Scotland, France, Germany, Sweden, and other countries. The run of live shows is currently set to end on July 8, in Milan, Italy. Find Sparks’ complete list of tour dates down below.
The Girl Is Crying in Her Latte was a comeback, of sorts, for Sparks, in that it was their first album for Island Records since the 1970s. Mad!, in turn, is the band’s first LP for Transgressive.
Revisit Pitchfork’s “Trend Upsetters: 10 Essential Sparks Songs.”
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Mad!:
01 Do Things My Own Way02 JanSport Backpack03 Hit Me, Baby04 Running Up a Tab at the Hotel for the Fab05 My Devotion06 Don’t Dog It07 In Daylight08 I-405 Rules09 A Long Red Light10 Drowned in a Sea of Tears11 A Little Bit of Light Banter12 Lord Have Mercy
Sparks:
06-08 Kyoto, Japan – ROHM Theatre Kyoto06-10 Osaka, Japan – Zepp Namba06-12 Tokyo, Japan – EX Theater Roppongi06-13 Tokyo, Japan – EX Theater Roppongi06-18 London, England – Eventim Apollo06-19 London, England – Eventim Apollo06-21 Manchester, England – O2 Apollo06-22 Manchester, England – O2 Apollo06-24 Glasgow, Scotland – Royal Concert Hall06-26 Haarlem, Netherlands – PHIL Haarlem06-28 Brussels, Belgium – Cirque Royal06-30 Paris, France – La Salle Pleyel07-01 Cologne, Germany – Gloria-Theater07-03 Copenhagen, Denmark – DR Koncerthuset07-04 Stockholm, Sweden – Gröna Lund Tivoli07-06 Berlin, Germany – Uber Eats Music Hall07-08 Milan, Italy – Teatro Degli Arcimboldi
