-
10.0
99100
10.0 |
The Independent
One treats high art as nonsense, the other treats nonsense as high art: a perfect description, perhaps, of the cultural dialectic which drives Sparks’ protean creativity
Read Review
-
8.9
99239
8.9 |
Paste Magazine
As always, Sparks shows its stylistic siblings how it’s truly done
Read Review
-
8.0
99253
8.0 |
Gig Soup
The twenty fourth album from the Mael’s and though it’s completely different to every release that’s preceded it, it doesn’t leave the crazy, mixed up Sparks world that we’ve all fallen in love with
Read Review
-
8.0
99355
8.0 |
The FT
Opening track is a droll bagatelle that affects to point to the Californian brotherly duo’s advancing years
Read Review
-
8.0
99516
8.0 |
Spectrum Culture
The Maels have built a career predicated on confounding expectations
Read Review
-
8.0
99081
8.0 |
The Line Of Best Fit
Hippopotamus feels like the latest volume in an alternate cultural history formed of all the weird things that only Sparks are audacious enough to make songs about. It’s an admirable commitment to silliness
Read Review
-
8.0
99234
8.0 |
Exclaim
It seems unlikely that a band this far into their career would make an album as career-defining as Hippopotamus, but then, Sparks have always done things on according to their own schedule
Read Review
-
8.0
99102
8.0 |
The Guardian
For anyone yet to experience the Maels’s unique charms, their best album in decades is as good as any place to start
Read Review
-
8.0
99161
8.0 |
Clash
Pure vaudeville, pure theatre – and pure Sparks
Read Review
-
8.0
99165
8.0 |
musicOMH
A big, joyous beast of an album
Read Review
-
8.0
99084
8.0 |
Under The Radar
Bursts with the signature wit and tongue-in-cheek cultural prodding that characterize Sparks' greatest work
Read Review
-
8.0
99085
8.0 |
The Irish Times
It’s as offbeat a collection as ever, but you wouldn’t have it any other way
Read Review
-
8.0
99086
8.0 |
Mojo
Hippopotamus is never anything less than wildly entertaining. Print edition only
-
8.0
99087
8.0 |
Uncut
Wide and rich enough to provide no end of delights. Print edition only
-
7.1
99219
7.1 |
Pitchfork
On the first proper Sparks album in nearly a decade, the Mael brothers let existential anxiety into their bouncy music more overtly than usual
Read Review
-
7.0
99082
7.0 |
The Music
Reverb-heavy indie-pop that sounds remarkably of a piece with their contemporary acolytes
Read Review
-
6.0
99083
6.0 |
The Skinny
The result is more tacky than glam. If you’re in it for the jokes, Hippopotamus is worth the effort
Read Review
-
6.0
99088
6.0 |
Q
Floating voters will lament the lack of a flat-out glam and/or electro-disco belter to rival their hits. Print edition only
-
6.0
99176
6.0 |
God Is In The TV
Slightly too long and uneven to rank with their best career triumphs, there are plenty of moments here to remind us why it’s still easy to get excited about a new Sparks release
Read Review
-