Sparks Return with Their First New Album in Eight Years

Only a few years removed from their collaborative album alongside Franz Ferdinand, long-running brother outfit Sparks are set to go it alone once more with a new LP. Titled Hippopotamus, the latest from Ron and Russell Mael will arrive on September 8 through BMG.

Fifteen tracks in length, Hippopotamus was recorded by the band in Los Angeles. With their 23rd album, Sparks are said to "take the pop form, shake it up, and create an album that is adventurous, fresh and idiosyncratically 'Sparks.'"

The band's last LP came in 2009 with The Seduction of Ingmar Bergman.

Along with the album announcement, the brothers have also shared a video for the record's title track, in which the two try to solve the mystery of how a hippo got in their pool, as shown in the album art above. The video makes use of some clever chalkboard-style animations by showing other strange objects afloat, including a book by Anonymous, a painting by Hieronymus Bosch and even a Volkswagen microbus.

Also, at the bottom of the page, you can watch some recently captured live footage from the BBC Radio 6 Music Festival, where they played the new album tracks "What The Hell Is It This Time?", "Edith Piaf (Said It Better Than Me)" and "Hippopotamus."

Hippopotamus is available for pre-order on CD, cassette, vinyl and picture disc here. Read through the tracklist to watch the video for the album's title track in the player below.

Sparks have also announced a series of European tour dates in support of the new album. You can see all those here.

Hippopotamus:

1. Probably Nothing
2. Missionary Position
3. Edith Piaf (Said It Better Than Me)
4. Scandinavian Design
5. Giddy Giddy
6. What The Hell Is It This Time?
7. Unaware
8. Hippopotamus
9. 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 (ft. Leos Carax)
13. The Amazing Mr. Repeat
14. A Little Bit Like Fun
15. Life With The Macbeths