Fact #176396

Mr Sparks raised eyebrows with his powerful battering ram of a debut single, I’m A Rope, and this album confirms him as a real contender. Despite the early 70s American funk riffarama of She’s Got Me Dancing, and the Cars-like like pop-rock sheen of These Things Happen, he’s unmistakeably English, combining elements of electro-pop with an eclectic Nic Lowe-like workmanship that suggests he’s got a long-term career in mind. At times he’s a bit too contrived and twee to take seriously but once he decides exactly who he is, watch out.
Johnny Black (review first appeared in Hi Fi News, 2009)