Unlimited Streaming
Listen to this album in high quality now on our apps
Start my trial period and start listening to this albumEnjoy this album on Qobuz apps with your subscription
SubscribeEnjoy this album on Qobuz apps with your subscription
Digital Download
Purchase and download this album in a wide variety of formats depending on your needs.
Bookended as it is by Russell Mael's wordless chorale vocals that help kick off the opening "Intro" and which recur in the soothing but strange conclusion to the final song, "Likeable," not to mention similar moments throughout the album, it's almost too easy to summarize Exotic Creatures of the Deep as Sparks' most involved tribute to the Beach Boys, late-'60s version. But as with nearly everything the band's ever done, one can't sum up an album quite as simply as that, and 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. The amalgam of orchestrations, feedback, and a new millennium's electronics evident in recent releases often sounds all the more integrated here, readily heard on the post-one-night-stand scenario lead single "Good Morning." Similarly, multi-part arrangements recur on efforts like "Strange Animal" and the outrageous "(She Got Me) Pregnant." That all said, the other key element to Sparks' continued success -- Ron Mael's catchy melodies and utterly skew-whiff take on humanity and its foibles -- equally holds sway, and if time lends some inevitable familiarity to the tropes, the variations are still strong enough to work wonders. The simmering political discontents that had already popped up in the Maels' 21st century work crystallize with "Let the Monkey Drive," a slam on a certain 43rd president with some of Ron's angriest piano parts, while they tip their hat to a noted disciple with "Lighten Up, Morrissey" (actually meant to be a portrayal of a despairing man whose girlfriend is so obsessed with said singer that their relationship is on the rocks). Compared to Hello Young Lovers, Exotic Creatures does sound a little starker at points, but it's often also subtler and slyer, tempering bombast in favor of sprightly but also uneasy melodies on songs like "The Director Never Yelled 'Cut'." 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."
© Ned Raggett /TiVo
You are currently listening to samples.
Listen to over 100 million songs with an unlimited streaming plan.
Listen to this playlist and more than 100 million songs with our unlimited streaming plans.
From 12.49€/month
Russell Mael, Composer, Producer, Writer - Ron Mael, Composer, Producer, Writer - Sparks, MainArtist
© 2008 Lil' Beethoven under exclusive license to BMG Rights Management (UK) Ltd. ℗ 2008 Ron & Russell Mael under exclusive licence to BMG Rights Management (UK) Limited
Russell Mael, Composer, Producer, Writer - Ron Mael, Composer, Producer, Writer - Sparks, MainArtist
© 2008 Lil' Beethoven under exclusive license to BMG Rights Management (UK) Ltd. ℗ 2008 Ron & Russell Mael under exclusive licence to BMG Rights Management (UK) Limited
Russell Mael, Composer, Producer, Writer - Ron Mael, Composer, Producer, Writer - Sparks, MainArtist
© 2008 Lil' Beethoven under exclusive license to BMG Rights Management (UK) Ltd. ℗ 2008 Ron & Russell Mael under exclusive licence to BMG Rights Management (UK) Limited
Russell Mael, Composer, Producer, Writer - Ron Mael, Composer, Producer, Writer - Sparks, MainArtist
© 2008 Lil' Beethoven under exclusive license to BMG Rights Management (UK) Ltd. ℗ 2008 Ron & Russell Mael under exclusive licence to BMG Rights Management (UK) Limited
Russell Mael, Composer, Producer, Writer - Ron Mael, Composer, Producer, Writer - Sparks, MainArtist
© 2008 Lil' Beethoven under exclusive license to BMG Rights Management (UK) Ltd. ℗ 2008 Ron & Russell Mael under exclusive licence to BMG Rights Management (UK) Limited
Russell Mael, Composer, Producer, Writer - Ron Mael, Composer, Producer, Writer - Sparks, MainArtist
© 2008 Lil' Beethoven under exclusive license to BMG Rights Management (UK) Ltd. ℗ 2008 Ron & Russell Mael under exclusive licence to BMG Rights Management (UK) Limited
Russell Mael, Composer, Producer, Writer - Ron Mael, Composer, Producer, Writer - Sparks, MainArtist
© 2008 Lil' Beethoven under exclusive license to BMG Rights Management (UK) Ltd. ℗ 2008 Ron & Russell Mael under exclusive licence to BMG Rights Management (UK) Limited
Russell Mael, Composer, Producer, Writer - Ron Mael, Composer, Producer, Writer - Sparks, MainArtist
© 2008 Lil' Beethoven under exclusive license to BMG Rights Management (UK) Ltd. ℗ 2008 Ron & Russell Mael under exclusive licence to BMG Rights Management (UK) Limited
Russell Mael, Composer, Producer, Writer - Ron Mael, Composer, Producer, Writer - Sparks, MainArtist
© 2008 Lil' Beethoven under exclusive license to BMG Rights Management (UK) Ltd. ℗ 2008 Ron & Russell Mael under exclusive licence to BMG Rights Management (UK) Limited
Russell Mael, Composer, Producer, Writer - Ron Mael, Composer, Producer, Writer - Sparks, MainArtist
© 2008 Lil' Beethoven under exclusive license to BMG Rights Management (UK) Ltd. ℗ 2008 Ron & Russell Mael under exclusive licence to BMG Rights Management (UK) Limited
Russell Mael, Composer, Producer, Writer - Ron Mael, Composer, Producer, Writer - Sparks, MainArtist
© 2008 Lil' Beethoven under exclusive license to BMG Rights Management (UK) Ltd. ℗ 2008 Ron & Russell Mael under exclusive licence to BMG Rights Management (UK) Limited
Russell Mael, Composer, Producer, Writer - Ron Mael, Composer, Producer, Writer - Sparks, MainArtist
© 2008 Lil' Beethoven under exclusive license to BMG Rights Management (UK) Ltd. ℗ 2008 Ron & Russell Mael under exclusive licence to BMG Rights Management (UK) Limited
Russell Mael, Composer, Producer, Writer - Ron Mael, Composer, Producer, Writer - Sparks, MainArtist
© 2008 Lil' Beethoven under exclusive license to BMG Rights Management (UK) Ltd. ℗ 2008 Ron & Russell Mael under exclusive licence to BMG Rights Management (UK) Limited
Album review
Bookended as it is by Russell Mael's wordless chorale vocals that help kick off the opening "Intro" and which recur in the soothing but strange conclusion to the final song, "Likeable," not to mention similar moments throughout the album, it's almost too easy to summarize Exotic Creatures of the Deep as Sparks' most involved tribute to the Beach Boys, late-'60s version. But as with nearly everything the band's ever done, one can't sum up an album quite as simply as that, and 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. The amalgam of orchestrations, feedback, and a new millennium's electronics evident in recent releases often sounds all the more integrated here, readily heard on the post-one-night-stand scenario lead single "Good Morning." Similarly, multi-part arrangements recur on efforts like "Strange Animal" and the outrageous "(She Got Me) Pregnant." That all said, the other key element to Sparks' continued success -- Ron Mael's catchy melodies and utterly skew-whiff take on humanity and its foibles -- equally holds sway, and if time lends some inevitable familiarity to the tropes, the variations are still strong enough to work wonders. The simmering political discontents that had already popped up in the Maels' 21st century work crystallize with "Let the Monkey Drive," a slam on a certain 43rd president with some of Ron's angriest piano parts, while they tip their hat to a noted disciple with "Lighten Up, Morrissey" (actually meant to be a portrayal of a despairing man whose girlfriend is so obsessed with said singer that their relationship is on the rocks). Compared to Hello Young Lovers, Exotic Creatures does sound a little starker at points, but it's often also subtler and slyer, tempering bombast in favor of sprightly but also uneasy melodies on songs like "The Director Never Yelled 'Cut'." 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."
© Ned Raggett /TiVo
About the album
- 1 disc(s) - 13 track(s)
- Total length: 00:49:58
- Main artists: Sparks
- Composer: Various Composers
- Label: BMG Rights Management (UK) Ltd
- Genre: Pop/Rock Pop
© 2008 Lil' Beethoven under exclusive license to BMG Rights Management (UK) Ltd. ℗ 2008 Lil' Beethoven under exclusive license to BMG Rights Management (UK) Ltd.
Improve album informationWhy buy on Qobuz...
-
Stream or download your music
Buy an album or an individual track. Or listen to our entire catalogue with our high-quality unlimited streaming subscriptions.
-
Zero DRM
The downloaded files belong to you, without any usage limit. You can download them as many times as you like.
-
Choose the format best suited for you
Download your purchases in a wide variety of formats (FLAC, ALAC, WAV, AIFF...) depending on your needs.
-
Listen to your purchases on our apps
Download the Qobuz apps for smartphones, tablets and computers, and listen to your purchases wherever you go.