Author Topic: SPARKS BROTHERS: love letter to the art-pop Mael brothers  (Read 595 times)

Offline perc2100

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s a musician, I'm a sucker for any sort of movie about the behind-the-scenes shenanigans of professional artists.  As a movie fan, I also adore the work of writer/director Edgar Wright who in a little over 20 years has established himself as an inventive, comedic, and stylish director who also knows how to deliver heart: regardless of genre.

THE SPARKS BROTHERS hits on all cylinders, and acts as a sort of love letter to the Mael brothers, the creative force of the band Sparks this documentary features.  While the film gives a history of the "art-pop" band (this band is pretty impossible to pigeonhole into a genre, but art pop seems to be the best descriptor), it delves deeper into who the brothers are and the massive inspiration they've been over the band's 50+ year history.

Now, you may be thinking: who are Sparks/the Sparks brothers?  Are they an English band that just never hit in the US; why aren't I familiar with them?!

That's where I was mostly at when Wright first announced this endeavor years ago.  While the Mael brothers are from Southern CA, they've never been as big in the states as they've been in Europe.  They've enjoyed Top 10 success in England, and have had a #1 album in Germany.  The bros (Ron the keyboard player/principal composer and song writer & Russell the lead singer) have an incredibly unique style both musically and lyrically: a wonderful, often acerbic sense of humor that blends styles with pop, minimalism, somewhat industrial, and classical stylings.  In addition to the music, the band puts on fairly elaborate stage shows, and isn't afraid to play full albums live.  In 2008 they did a 21-night stand in London where they played each of their albums, one-per-night, with B-sides as encores, and finished night #21 debuting their new album - that was just under 200 songs over the course of the course of the event!  The band itself stayed 100% true to their artistic sensibilities, never delivering a poppy album on demand from a record label, and constantly reinventing their sound.  In fact, when their label told them to release music that you can dance to, trying to encourage them to produce more mainstream sounds, they literally delivered the album "Music That You Can Dance To" that was quite experimental.  While it was their most dance-inspired album in almost a decade, it was quite the antithesis of dance music of the time.

Is this type of music for everyone?  Of course not: no music is.  But I do think many folks will be able to walk away from this documentary with not only a newfound appreciate for the intelligence and wit of the brothers, but also be entertained.  The film features several 'talking head' interviews, with animation (and stop-motion animation at times) to illustrate a story being told by the brothers in voice over.  Folks like Beck, Weird 'Al' Yankovic, Flea from the Red Hot Chili Peppers, actor Jason Schwartzman, and others in both the music and entertainment business all chime in to talk about their appreciate of the band.  Former members and producers talk about the recording or performance process.  Really, at the end of the doc. you walk away feeling like you learned a bit about the fairly mysterious Mael bros: while gaining appreciate for their artistry and humor.  And fashion style: there is a ton of performance footage from the 80's where they rock the most awesome suits!

This is a fascinating documentary: Edgar Wright's first.  Anyone who enjoys seeing a peak behind the curtain of artists (a concept brought to literal life in this doc) should enjoy this one: even if the musical stylings aren't your cup of tea.  I walked away learning that the Mael brothers, particularly Ron and is wildly quirky sense of humor, are my artistic spirit animals.

THE SPARKS BROTHERS can be rented online, and is also in theaters.