Musical mavericks Sparks (featuring Californian brothers Ron and Russell Mael) will release their new studio album Hippopotamus on September 8 via BMG, accompanied by the first UK dates of The Hippopotamus Tour.

Recorded in Los Angeles, Hippopotamus sees them take the pop form, shake it up, and create an album that is adventurous, fresh and idiosyncratically ‘Sparks’. Described as “the smartest, most consistently evolving band in the history of rock”, and internationally-acclaimed as pop pioneers, Sparks’ music has always been innovative and instantly identifiable.

The title track, first played on BBC Radio 6 Music, was released as a single at midnight Friday March 24 after the band performed it along with three other songs from the album, in their set at the 6 Music Festival in Glasgow. You can read more about that show here.

Tracklist

01. Probably Nothing

02. Missionary Position

03. Edith Piaf (Said It Better Than Me)

04. Scandinavian Design

05. Giddy Giddy

06. What The Hell Is It This Time?

07. Unaware

08. Hippopotamus

09. Bummer

10. I Wish You Were Fun

11. So Tell Me Mrs. Lincoln Aside From That How Was The Play?

12. When You're A French Director (featuring Leos Carax)

13. The Amazing Mr. Repeat

14. A Little Bit Like Fun

15. Life With The Macbeths

Tour Dates

9/20 - Queens Hall, Edinburgh

9/22 - O2 Ritz, Manchester

9/23 - Rock City, Nottingham

9/24 - O2 Institute 1, Birmingham

9/26 - O2 Academy, Bristol

9/27 - O2 Shepherds Bush Empire, London

Kimmo Nieminen (vocals), Rauli Hämäläinen (lead guitar), Juuso Kekkonen (guitar), Jukka Siltala (bass), and Jari Ala-Kahrakuusi (drums) play street-rock from the Arctic Circle; Rovaniemi, Finland.

Never Train’s second EP, DNAR, has arrived. Never Train was formed from the mists of northern swamps and fells, its first cry wielded the power of a thousand distorted power chords. This unstoppable steam-breathing beast is the epitome of street- and classic rock. It is hard rock, blues, punk and something indescribable made flesh. While the lyrical output comes directly from the heart, it is delivered with a jesting grin.

“Sweat. Tears. Blood. Beauty. Fury. Rock.The iron roads screech and the scaredy-cats cover as Never Train takes the stage. In addition to playing their own tunes, the band gives homage in the form of covers. Greatly revered are such bands as Guns N’ Roses, AC/DC, Hanoi Rocks, Aerosmith, Sentenced, Marilyn Manson, Metallica and many others.”