Sparks Exotic Creatures of the Deep 180g 2LP

Exotic Creatures of the Deep is the 21st studio album by "your favorite band's favorite band," the legendary and influential Sparks (brothers Ron and Russell Mael). Originally released on May 19, 2008, the album has been newly remastered for this LP reissue and released on heavyweight vinyl.

At the time of its release, Exotic Creatures of the Deep was promoted in the UK by a number of live performances dubbed the "Sparks Spectacular": a record-setting 20-date residency from May 16 through June 11, 2008 at London's Carling Islington Academy, where the group played each one of their previous 20 albums in its entirety in chronological order. Each night, they performed an album in its entirety followed by a rare track - many of the songs had never been performed live before. The final appearance at London's Shepherd's Bush Empire on June 13 premiered Exotic Creatures of the Deep.

Exotic Creatures, if not as completely explosive as Hello Young Lovers at its heights, finds the rude creative health of the Maels still firing on all cylinders... Perhaps the most emblematic song of the whole album is a swaggering electro-glam stomp, at once reminiscent of their early English heyday and perfectly in sync with the post-schaffel pop universe, with a killer vocal performance by Russell topped by his intoning of the song title in the chorus - 'I Can't Believe That You Would Fall for All the Crap in This Song.'

There's still hope for the world

Exotic is pure art pop with classical leanings, lent a cheeky energy via Russell Mael's diva-esque vocal turns and the brothers' winking lyrics (the album opens with the lines, 'Good morning. Who are you?').