Los Angeles, CA · art-pop

Sparks

1 upcoming festival

The Mael brothers' 50-year art-pop conspiracy — wittier than everyone, still ahead, and finally getting the flowers.

Sparks is the duo of brothers Ron and Russell Mael, from Los Angeles, working under that name since 1972 after beginning as Halfnelson. Russell sings in a high, theatrical register; Ron writes and plays keyboards, deadpan and largely motionless on stage. The pair found early success in Britain with Kimono My House and its single "This Town Ain't Big Enough for Both of Us," then repeatedly changed direction, most notably on the 1979 Giorgio Moroder collaboration No. 1 in Heaven, an early template for synth-pop.

They have continued releasing albums steadily for five decades, collaborating with Franz Ferdinand as FFS and writing the film Annette. Edgar Wright's documentary The Sparks Brothers brought renewed attention to the catalogue.

art-pop