First of all... now this is an album cover!
This is an comprehensive, long, completely enlightening, compulsively interesting, often very funny and most importantly as a sometimes creative person inspiring to a degree that is difficult to put into words. The output of Sparks on the surface seems remarkable until one understands that they're that thing that often gets eye rolls except when it's true, they're artists first and commercial product makers second.
They have less in common with the bands that I'm sure cribbed (consciously or not) from their work like the glam bands of the mid 70s or the electronic dance pop acts of the 80s (and BTW holy fuck did Pet Shop Boys steal their shit but I digress) than they do one of the subjects of their latter (opera?) Albums, Ingmar Bergman, or as I also thought of once or twice a Woody Allen or something. Here are guys who... it's not right to say they don't care about the audience because they clearly want to engage and communicate and open their off kilter little hearts to people, but they don't partake in trends because they want to cash out, or have any sense that This is What We Should Do Now.
The constant thread is "we just finished this, now it's on to the next thing" and why wait when you can follow what matters to you. In the Maels brothers case it's being funny, and not taking their subject matter for granted (ie their songs on loneliness and dejection are a piece with a lot of good pop music). They something new, but at the same time with a vibrancy and tone in their voices that we know - and to conclude this comparison, if they land a Serpent's Egg or Jade Scorpion, move on to what's next! If their work meets the times they're in its either by coincidence or just that they like folks like Giorgio Moroder or Franz Ferdinand or the GoGos lady.
On the one hand this is lacking the thing that many music documentaries have which is some major drama or setbacks. There is that period where they could so to speak barely get arrested much less a record deal (and good God I am curious more on why that Tim Burton anime adaptation fell apart, albeit if it meant it gave us Ed Wood then insert Larry David torn gif here, again digress, damn I should stop that), and that a shame.
But this is like 95% a celebration of the joy and *work* that goes into being in something like Sparks - another creative comparative that is hard not to go-to, the Coen brothers, think on it for a few minutes - and how they reached so many without catering to them specifically, except in the sense of being natural and even quixotic and beguiling storytellers and finding weird and exciting ways to go about stuff taken for granted like album covers (the one with them tied up in poses and then one brother reaching for the phone is magnificent). In a way it's kind of refreshing to have it be so drama free, even if by the end the wrap up goes on a little longer than one might expect.
Ultimately, these are two chill dudes from California who on first listen (at least to the minor breakthrough "This Town Ain't Big Enough for the Both of Us") sound like some bizarre German art project, are fun to listen to and their collaborators give us a sense that their can be soul to what dances the Edge between genuinely provocative pop and novelty dance stuff. And last but not least this serves as like a giant generous gift on the part of Edgar Wright.
For a time when I heard this was coming out and saw the trailer I felt kind of guilty, like how could I have not heard of these two before? But the thing Wright means to make here really is that so many have a point of entry into their work, and even if it's this documentary now you're here and you can enjoy and dig deep into what they do (or dance or look puzzled or whatever).
PS: Ohhhhh that's who he looks like! All this movie, until near the end, Ron Mael looked so familiar or like someone and then it hit me: Robert Crumb. Look at the two of them and tell me you don't see a slightly more uncanny and flamboyantly nerdy fellow on that keyboard/dancing like no one's watching. Digress again? Nah, I'm fine with this point.
(*a reference to two of their songs)
