Sparks MAD!
Sparks' MAD! finds the Mael brothers sharpening their wit and craft into an often exhilarating late-career statement that critics say signals reinvention rather than nostalgia. Across professional reviews the record earned a 76.36/100 consensus score from 11 reviews, and reviewers consistently point to a handful of immediate standouts that showcase both theatricality and pop precision.
Critics consistently praise “Do Things My Own Way”, “Running Up A Tab At The Hotel For The Fab”, “JanSport Backpack” and “Drowned In A Sea Of Tears” as the album's best songs, citing addictively hummable hooks, vivid LA-flavored specifics, and inventive arrangements. Reviews note the record's synthesis of synth-pop sheen, art-rock theatricality and satirical lyricism - moments of sharp social observation and urban detail sit alongside genuine emotional undercurrents on slower pieces like “In Daylight” and “My Devotion”. Praise centers on the duo's knack for melodic craft, inventive production and late-career vitality, while several critics balance that admiration with concerns about occasional lyrical clichés and a thinner vocal edge.
That mix of affection and reservation frames the critical consensus: MAD! is widely regarded as a compelling, if imperfect, continuation of Sparks' long-running experimentation. For readers asking "is MAD! good?" or searching for the best songs on MAD!, professional reviews point first to the opener “Do Things My Own Way” and the sly baroque-pop of “Running Up A Tab At The Hotel For The Fab” as gateways to an album that rewards repeated listening and confirms the brothers' enduring inventiveness.
Critics' Top Tracks
The standout songs that made critics take notice
Do Things My Own Way
11 mentions
"lead single Do Things My Own Way"— Record Collector
I-405 Rules
9 mentions
"The LA-born pair’s versatility finds space to breathe via the operatic scale of "I-405 Rules", an ode to their native city"— The Line of Best Fit
Running Up A Tab At The Hotel For The Fab
11 mentions
"the synths, too, on tracks like Running Up A Tab At A Hotel For The Fab are sometimes deliciously dirty"— Record Collector
lead single Do Things My Own Way
Track Ratings
How critics rated each track, relative to this album (0-100). Only tracks that made critics feel something are rated.
Do Things My Own Way
JanSport Backpack
Hit Me, Baby
Running Up A Tab At The Hotel For The Fab
My Devotion
Don't Dog It
In Daylight
I-405 Rules
A Long Red Light
Drowned In A Sea Of Tears
A Little Bit Of Light Banter
Lord Have Mercy
What Critics Are Saying
Deep insights from 14 critics who reviewed this album
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Critic's Take
Hi, everyone. Giggens here, and it is an absolute honor to say that on MAD! Sparks sound vibrantly alive, with standouts like “Do Things My Own Way” and “Running Up A Tab At The Hotel For The Fab” crystallizing their singular approach. The opener “Do Things My Own Way” feels like a mission statement - a gripping, hypnotic pulse that announces they still lead the conversation. Meanwhile “Running Up A Tab At The Hotel For The Fab” glows with fat, shimmering synths and playful creepiness, one of the album's most immediately beguiling moments. Overall this is a career highlight that proves Sparks remain inventive, focused, and utterly current.
Key Points
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The best song, "Do Things My Own Way", stands out as a hypnotic mission-statement opener with gritty guitars and confident determination.
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The album's core strengths are sustained inventiveness, sharp writing, heartfelt lyrics, and vibrant, focused performances that keep Sparks sounding current.
Themes
Critic's Take
Sparks continue to reinvent themselves on MAD!, and the best songs here are those that marry their cheeky satire with sweeping arrangements, notably “Do Things My Own Way” and “My Devotion”. Camryn Teder relishes the album's genre-switching, praising the bubbling synths and stacked harmonies of “Do Things My Own Way” while highlighting the chamber-pop poignancy of “My Devotion”. The review frames other standouts like “I-405 Rules” and “A Long Red Light” as orchestral showpieces that underline Sparks' fearless experimentation. Teder tempers enthusiasm with critique about repetitive melodies, but ultimately presents MAD! as another successful, if imperfect, evolution for the brothers.
Key Points
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The best song, "Do Things My Own Way", is the album's hype-up centerpiece combining bubbling synths and emphatic stacked harmonies.
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MAD!'s core strengths are bold genre-switching, satirical lyricism, and maximalist, orchestral arrangements that retain a mystical ambiguity.
Themes
Critic's Take
Sparks have delivered again on MAD!, and the best songs on MAD! make a compelling case for their enduring inventiveness. The review gleams over “Running Up A Tab At The Hotel For The Fab” for its James Bond-like swagger, praises “In Daylight” as a gorgeously transcendent tearjerker, and singles out “Do Things My Own Way” as an extremely addictive mantra. Mastel’s tone is admiring and precise, noting majestic instrumentation, mesmerizing vocals, and adventurous arrangements that mark these tracks as the album’s highlights. Overall, the reviewist voice clearly points listeners toward those songs as the best tracks on MAD! due to songwriting, production, and performances.
Key Points
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The standout track is arguably "Running Up A Tab At The Hotel For The Fab" for its adventurous swagger and thrilling instrumentation.
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The album’s core strengths are intricate arrangements, majestic production, and mesmerising vocal performances.
Themes
Critic's Take
Sparks return on MAD! with familiar wit and restless invention, and the review singles out tracks like “Do Things My Own Way” and “I-405 Rules” as exemplary moments. The opener “Do Things My Own Way” condenses their convention-shunning shenanigans into a concise statement of intent, while the operatic sweep of “I-405 Rules” gives the LA ode a surprising contemporary weight. Elsewhere, “Hit Me Baby” shocks with hard rock riffs and Russell’s falsetto, and “A Little Bit of Light Banter” blossoms from jaunty art rock into Beatlesque chamber pop. The review frames these best tracks as evidence that MAD! both revisits and refreshes Sparks’ long-running, off-kilter idiom.
Key Points
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The best song, "A Little Bit Of Light Banter", stands out for evolving from jaunty art rock into layered Beatlesque chamber pop.
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MAD! succeeds by revisiting Sparks’ past styles while refreshing them with wit, operatic scale, and timely references.
Themes
Critic's Take
Sparks sound as inveterate and invigorating as ever on MAD!, and the best songs - notably “Do Things My Own Way” and “My Devotion” - seize attention with sheer pop craft and energy. Robin Murray's prose delights in the brothers' tiny character details, praising “JanSport BackPack” for its witty wordplay while flagging the melodramatic sting of “Drowned In A Sea Of Tears”. The record feels both of its moment and out of time, theatrical yet taut, which is why listeners asking for the best tracks on MAD! will be drawn first to those three songs. Overall Murray presents MAD! as a late-career flourish that outpaces many younger copyists, closing with the emphatic charge of “Lord Have Mercy”.
Key Points
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The best song combines catchy hooks and characteristic character detail, exemplified by "Do Things My Own Way" being called a brilliantly catchy opener.
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The album's core strengths are meticulous songwriting, witty lyricism, and a theatrical yet taut late-career energy.
Themes
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Critic's Take
Sparks have delivered another exhilarating set on MAD!, and the best songs here - notably “Do Things My Own Way” and “Lord Have Mercy” - stick like sugar shards in the brain. Plummer savours their talent for turning quotidian sights into comic, almost poignant tableaux, so the best tracks on MAD! feel both clever and immediately hummable. The album’s high points are built on studio-as-instrument production and razor-sharp observation, making songs such as “JanSport Backpack” and “I-405 Rules” feel like mini masterpieces. Finally, the slow-burners - like “My Devotion” and “Drowned In A Sea Of Tears” - temper the hyperactive pop with real emotional weight, which is why listeners asking "what are the best songs on MAD!?" will find plenty to argue over.
Key Points
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The opener “Do Things My Own Way” is the best song because it sets the album’s template with sugary synths and relentless hooks.
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MAD! excels at turning everyday urban details into sharp, witty pop songs backed by studio-forward production.
Themes
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Critic's Take
In a characteristically blunt voice Lucy Harbron finds that Sparks on MAD! land their best moments in sparse experiments like “In Daylight” and the opener, while many songs founder when Russell Mael's vocals and the lyrics trip over clichés. The review names “In Daylight” as a standout for being "peaceful and calm, genuinely quite beautiful", and singles out the album opener as a strong live set starter even as its verses stumble. Harbron’s tone is exasperated and wry - she praises instrumental textures and experimentation but repeatedly returns to how the Mael-isms have lost their bite. The result answers queries about the best tracks on MAD! by pointing readers toward the simple, ethereal “In Daylight” and the album’s dynamic opener as the clearest highlights.
Key Points
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The best song is “In Daylight” because its sparse, ethereal approach showcases the album’s most successful restraint.
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The album’s core strengths are instrumental experimentation and varied textures, but these are undermined by weakened vocals and clichéd lyrics.
Themes
Critic's Take
Sparks sound imperious on MAD!, and the review makes clear why the best songs on MAD! are the vivid character studies - “In Daylight” and “Do Things My Own Way”. James McNair’s tone is admiring and precise, noting how “In Daylight” lets its magic unspool from the line “Everybody looks great at night”, while “Do Things My Own Way” showcases Russell’s hale, hearty countertenor. He also holds up “JanSport Backpack” as a small-detail triumph, a wry comment on brand ubiquity that lingers. The overall pitch is celebratory: inventive arrangements, unexpected references and the Mael brothers’ seasoned craft make these the standout tracks.
Key Points
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The best song is "In Daylight" because the reviewer highlights its simple notion unspooling into magic and exemplary songwriting.
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The album’s strengths are inventive arrangements, wry social observation, and the Mael brothers’ enduring, distinctive performances.
Themes
Critic's Take
Sparks pursue playful experimentation on MAD!, and the review makes clear that the best songs are those that marry wit with craft. The reviewer singles out “Running Up a Tab at the Hotel for the Fab” as a bouncy highlight and praises “Don't Dog It” for its symphonic synths and harmonies, arguing these best tracks show Sparks still relish sonic exploration. At times the album nods backward - as on “JanSport Backpack” - yet songs like “Drowned in a Sea of Tears” redeem that nostalgia with an affecting chorus. Overall, the tone is admiring but measured, crediting the Mael brothers for choosing a cerebral path rather than merely trading on past glories.
Key Points
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“Don’t Dog It” is best for its lush production, harmonies, and successful genre-melding.
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The album’s core strengths are measured experimentation, strong vocal character, and polished production.
Themes
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Critic's Take
In a typically wry and exuberant tone the reviewer argues that Sparks deliver again on MAD!, with lead single “Do Things My Own Way” and the punchy “Hit Me, Baby” exemplifying a renewed toughness. The piece relishes Ron Mael's cinematic detail - note the close reading of “JanSport Backpack” - and celebrates Russell's undiminished falsetto as a throughline. The writer piles on affectionate hyperbole while grounding the praise in concrete moments of sound and lyric, making clear why listeners ask about the best songs on MAD!. Ultimately the voice is both admiring and precise, pointing to those tracks as the album's most immediate rewards.
Key Points
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The best song is the lead single “Do Things My Own Way” for exemplifying the album’s renewed toughness and immediacy.
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MAD! pairs razor-sharp lyrical specificity with a muscular, sometimes dirty sonic palette, sustained by Russell’s enduring falsetto.
Themes
Critic's Take
Stay with it, it’s worth it - Sparks' MAD! rewards patience, with immediate winners like “Drowned In A Sea Of Tears” and the quirky “Do Things My Own Way” anchoring the record. Peter Freeth writes in a conversational, slightly sardonic tone, noting how collaboration and fuller production shape the best tracks while others are growers rather than showers. The review highlights singalong moments and clever lyricism, explaining why listeners searching for the best songs on MAD! should start with “Drowned In A Sea Of Tears” and then sample “Do Things My Own Way” and “A Little Bit Of Light Banter” to get the album’s range.
Key Points
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Drowned In A Sea Of Tears is the album’s best track because it pairs clear storytelling with rich production that can win new listeners.
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MAD! finds strength in collaboration and fuller production, blending theatrical lyrics with accessible, singalong moments.