Rating:
Genre:
Rock
Release Date: 03/02/2010
Run Time: 35:49
Although mired in a rut of merely "good" albums,
Sparks had offered occasional glimpses of their old greatness on each, fanning the dim hope that they might climb again to previous heights. The faithful were rewarded with
Angst in My Pants, the first album in years (and, sadly, the last) that puts their
pop genius to good use. The differences between this album and the inferior
Whomp That Sucker are subtle but important. First, the material is much better (OK, that's not so subtle). Second, the band is brought up in the mix at the expense of the synthesizer, and the result feels more like their old
power pop than the
new wave/
disco sound of recent efforts. Lastly,
Russell Mael's voice is lower; he still hits the high notes on occasion, but for the most part this is an album of
pop songs you can actually sing along with (and the lyric sheet, while provided, isn't necessary this time). Still pegged as a
novelty act, the colorless
"I Predict" was selected as the album's single;
"Eaten By the Monster of Love" didn't catch on with radio stations, but it's a much better representative of the album. Other highlights include the wonderfully silly
"Moustache," a
Beach Boys send-up in
"Sextown U.S.A.," and the strange but sympathetic love song
"Sherlock Holmes." Throughout the record,
Sparks succeeds not by pushing a pipe full of music through a thin straw (as they did on classics like
Propaganda) but by giving their ideas the space they need to succeed. As a result, it's not an overwhelming record, simply an ingratiating one. Unfortunately, the subsequent
Sparks in Outer Space returned to the mechanical pace of their
post-disco product, which makes
Angst in My Pants a warm exception within
Sparks' protracted creative cold spell.
~Dave Connolly, All Music Guide
;)
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