Sparks New Album The Girl Is Crying In Her Latte Might Save You

A review of art pop duo Sparks’ new album, The Girl Is Crying In Her Latte. This album will immerse you in a wonderfully bizarre landscape, one that mirrors reality in some fashion, only it is more fun and kaleidoscopic; bringing with it the sensation of happiness and imagination experienced in childhood, when you were, for example, reading your favorite book, or simply doing something creative just for the fun of it. 

By Eimear O SullivanMusicngear Editor

Article photo - Sparks New Album The Girl Is Crying In Her Latte Might Save You


Simply by reading the lyrics of Sparks’ music; you will be drawn into the delicious visual worlds in which they take place, as would be the case with a well written story. Pairing said lyrics with music is a wholly immersive experience; kind of like a portal to a wonderfully odd dimension.

The experience of listening to The Girl Is Crying In Her Latte, is one that will ignite the imagination of childhood; reminding you of the raw fun of creativity; and the joys of exploring the odd, fantastical worlds that exist in the far corners of your imagination.

The opening song (The Girl Is Crying In Her Latte) is like a French art house movie; the lyrics flowing over distorted electronic textures, things getting seemingly more and more bizarre while managing to be an astute commentary on strange events unfolding in real life.

 


Reading the lyrics to Veronica Lake is an experience unto itself; made all the more immersive by the unusual synthesis over which the strange tale melts, the bell-like electronics having the pastel texture of Neapolitan ice cream.

The fourth song Escalator reminds me of the magical, slightly alien-like sounds of Mother Earth’s Plantasia; the musical backdrop sounding like the thoughts of a toy plant that has become sentient.

As the album progresses; things have a decidedly more cinematic feel; We Go Dancing is like the opening credits of a thoroughly camp 1970s TV show, one that takes place under the gothic shadows of a purple skied, smokey alleywayed New York City. Each chorus of We Go Dancing gets more ominous and menacing; possessing the franticness of doubling down with what you are doing, in a frenzied attempt to ignore the fact that an asteroid is slowly approaching and engulfing everything around you. 

When You Leave is downright contrary; and I am obsessed; a song that explores the fact that literally, everybody is waiting for you to leave in order to have a good time; but your response is  “I’m going to stay/ Just to annoy them/ I’m going to stay/ Just to piss them off” (perhaps the antidote to being afraid how people are perceiving you at all times??)

Take Me For A Ride could be taken from a fever induced number in a musical (the best kind, in my opinion). We delve back into electronics with A Love Story; with its intense beat transporting you to a dark, concrete fuelled underground music scene in Berlin; the chorus beginning with “Hold my place in the queue, you’re so kind/ As I buy some drugs for this girlfriend of mine”

The closing tracks are reflective, the closing track Gee, That Was Fun is a dark piano ballad, saying goodbye, with a wonderful canon (these need to make more of a comeback).

As is the case with all of Sparks’ music; this album is thoroughly fun, imaginative and creative; like a good book, movie, or tv show, this will immerse you in another landscape, re-igniting a life force within that may have been struggling, or lying dormant for quite some time, inviting you to drink in the wonder, magic and overall strangeness of the world around you.
 

Connect with Sparks
Website / Spotify / Twitter / Instagram

About Eimear O Sullivan

Eimear Ann O Sullivan is a multi-genre music producer, audio engineer and vocalist. After receiving a Masters in Music Technology from the CIT Cork School of Music, she went on to operate as a producer under the name Blakkheart. Her releases have received critical acclaim from Ireland's biggest music publications, such as District Magazine and Nialler9, alongside receiving heavy commercial radio airplay. She currently works in Cork recording studio Flashpoint CC. Previous clients of hers include the likes of Comedy Central’s Dragony Aunt star Candy Warhol, rapper Darce and Outsider YP. (Photo credit @Fabian Boros)

Contact Eimear O Sullivan at eimear.o.sullivan@musicngear.com

About Music Spotlight

In this blog section we host new music releases, artist features and handpicked playlists by the Musicngear staff.

Interested in a music feature, writing a story as a guest or joining the Musicngear team as a Contributing Author? Contact us at info+blog@musicngear.com