• Record Label: BMG
  • Release Date: May 15, 2020
Metascore
82

Universal acclaim - based on 16 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 15 out of 16
  2. Negative: 0 out of 16
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  1. The Wire
    Jul 10, 2020
    70
    The album suffers a little from its 14 song duration. The Mael wit works best when it’s tightly presented. [Jul 2020, p.52]
  2. 70
    A Steady Drip, Drip, Drip is still a heartening example of a truly original and who continue to enjoy success on their own unique terms by refining and amplifying their youthful weirdness instead of mellowing with age. [Jul 2020, p.88]
  3. May 18, 2020
    80
    This is their 29th album, a delightfully silly set of eccentric songcraft.
  4. May 15, 2020
    80
    The good news is that while it’s not better than Hippopotamus, their latest work is just as hilarious, and just as focused.
  5. May 15, 2020
    80
    Here and throughout A Steady Drip, Drip, Drip, Ron and Russel Mael riff on their history deftly, and the results are both timely and quintessentially Sparks.
  6. 80
    It is an album as multi-faceted as it is innovative. And that’s Sparks to a tee.
  7. May 14, 2020
    90
    And so it brilliantly goes. ... These are classic Sparks moments, full of comedy, clever wordplay, deft explorations of all the myriad issues of the world, with arrangements that sound as current and fresh as a dew-soaked spring daisy.
  8. May 13, 2020
    90
    The Mael brothers have been waiting patiently for the world to catch up to them, but A Steady Drip, Drip, Drip signifies another bold creative peak moment for Sparks.
  9. 80
    For longtime fans, A Steady Drip, Drip, Drip is just another impressive notch in Sparks’ ever expanding career belt. But newcomers can come aboard here, then work themselves back through nearly five decades of similarly ecstatic, challenging and generally delightful Sparks music, most of it well worth hearing.
  10. Uncut
    May 12, 2020
    90
    Filled to the brim with usual abundance of trademark lyrical zingers, tenacious earworm melodies and stylistic zigzags. [Jun 2020, p.26]
  11. Mojo
    May 12, 2020
    80
    It's all carried off with the panache and confidence of a group making their first, not 24th, album. [Jun 2020, p.89]
  12. Q Magazine
    May 12, 2020
    80
    No band should by rights sound as sharp, melodic and funny more than 50 years into their career, but Sparks are no ordinary band. [Jun 2020, p.113]
  13. 90
    Sparks’ avant-garde tradition is freshly lacquered on A Steady Drip, Drip, Drip, a track record injected with further potency during dystopic times. Jaunty melodies juxtapose with typical wryly wrought themes, levity undercut with social critique - the brothers’ inimitable style at its finest on an album that represents one of their most prescient and much needed.
  14. May 12, 2020
    90
    Two-dozen albums in, Sparks provide pleasing surprises. Unquestionably, A Steady Drip, Drip, Drip is one of their most dynamic — and strongest — efforts.
  15. May 12, 2020
    80
    It's another wildly thought-provoking, fun, and wholly distinctive venture.
  16. Rolling Stone
    May 12, 2020
    60
    Can be madcap and zany, darkly hilarious, and just plain weird. [May 2020, p.89]
User Score
8.4

Universal acclaim- based on 13 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 11 out of 13
  2. Negative: 0 out of 13
  1. Aug 5, 2020
    8
    ( 80/100 )

    Este es un viaje demasiado entretenido por parte de Sparks, la adulta banda de Londres. La creatividad es palpable, el humor
    ( 80/100 )

    Este es un viaje demasiado entretenido por parte de Sparks, la adulta banda de Londres. La creatividad es palpable, el humor divierte sin pena y le da al público un momento de baile, gozo y energía particular y peculiar. Ron Mael y Rusell Mael se divierten jugando con los colores y humores de los instrumentos para dar una solida narrativa durante todo el álbum con un par de importantes sorpresas. Sparks ha estado en la industria desde 1970 y su Indie-Pop e Indie-Rock se caracteriza por la ingeniosa armonía compuesta para dar tiempo y espacio a sus ideas sin descuidar la seriedad en los detalles. La lírica explora la incertidumbre e impotencia de vivir en la actualidad después de haber perdido la capacidad de adaptarse a la sociedad. Sin embargo, su producción sorprende al adaptarse a las demandas contemporáneas con originalidad. Estos creativos hermanos se ha ganado mis ganas de explorar su pasado y esperar su futuro.
    -
    This is a very entertaining trip by Sparks, the adult band from London. The creativity is palpable, the humor amuses without shame and gives the public a particular and peculiar moment of dance, joy, and energy. Ron Mael and Rusell Mael have fun playing with the colors and humor of the instruments to give a solid narrative through the hole album with a couple of important surprises. Sparks has been in the industry since 1970 and their Indie-Pop and Indie-Rock is characterized by the clever harmony composed to give time and space to their ideas without losing the seriousness of details. The lyrics explore the uncertainty and impotence of living in the actuality after losing the capability of adapting to society. Nevertheless, their production surprises by being adapted to the contemporary demands with originality. These creative brothers have won my interest in exploring their past and hope for their future.
    Full Review »
  2. May 31, 2020
    8
    Like most of the Brothers Mael's output over the last decade, the quirk that made them famous can be somewhat muted when compared to theLike most of the Brothers Mael's output over the last decade, the quirk that made them famous can be somewhat muted when compared to the here-comes-the-kitchen-sink approach of their earlier fare, but they've still got it. Unable to shake the hold that classical music took in their work since the "Little Beethoven" album, they have at least made it more interesting and less repetitive - for a brief while the band known for the wackiest lyrics in rock were either out of lyrics or had gone way too minimalist, but they've rebounded nicely. The fastest tracks pack the biggest punch as has almost always been the case, but there's more heft to the slower stuff than has been seen in awhile. Only the closer, "Please Don't **** Up My World" (the sequel to their classic "Never Turn Your Back On Mother Earth") falls completely, and is more convincing as resignation than plea. One hole doesn't sink this ship, though - this album once again justifies my joining their fan club in 1974. Full Review »