Sparks

o2 Academy, Glasgow.

*****

The Mael brothers are freaks of popular culture; aging Californian brothers who always seemed to be ahead of the game and remain so, while undoubted pioneers of quirky art rock and even synthpop.

But with the flamboyant Russell Mael and his death stare Hitler moustachioed brother Ron now aged 69 and 72 respectively, it is remarkable that last year they celebrated their first UK Top 10 album in 43 years with what is their most consistently catchy LP Hippopotamus and yet still sound delightfully out of step from the crowd.

With 23 albums covering a career that has spanned 46 years, it would be churlish to expect the Mael brothers to be at their best.

The Herald:

Yet here they confound those expectations with Russell, who still has one of the most distinctive singing voices around, indulging a seemingly effortless swooping operatic falsetto throughout while campily bounding energetically about the stage like an over-excited pantomime horse without a partner or a costume, oblivious in the main to his brother's pretend-sinister. How he keeps his pink jacket on for nearly all of this 105 minute extravaganza is beyond me.

Hippopotamus is their highest charting album since their 1974 major breakthrough Kimono My House, kickstarted by their classic first big hit single This Town Ain't Big Enough for Both of Us.

So it is not the biggest shock that their return to Glasgow relies heavily on their newest material - which combines all the things that make Sparks one of the most influential bands of my time on the planet: eccentricity, oblique lyrics, high voices, neat keyboard hooks, big guitars and huge choruses.

The Herald:

Here we are in the 2500-capacity o2 Academy, not the originally scheduled 1300-capacity o2 ABC, which was clearly too small, and there is a sense of occasion and expectation that the Mael brothers ravenously feed off.

You do not expect the deliberately mute keyboard player to be the centre of attention, but Ron historically always has been, with his sometimes menacing, sometimes playful, sometimes coy stare; a mesmerizing slice of showmanship that after decades still has me hooked. This time round, in white shirt, pink tie, jacket, big glasses, small moustache, black trousers hitched up almost to his nipples and greased-back hair he adopts an enigmatically serious, almost disinterested pose, most of the time.

Here the Maels show they are the ultimate odd couple, with Russell the still debonnaire 'straight' while Ron becomes the less-animated weirdo.

One of the reasons Sparks have remained special throughout the years is that they have retained their mystery with little known about their private life; they could be aliens for all we know.

The Herald:

When Ron Mael does something, you notice, wondering whether the mask will slip. During a thumping Missionary Position from the new album, seven songs in, he breaks from his deadpan pose for a rare smile while miming to the line, "we don't need anymore".

When we get to the contagious disco anthem The Number One Song in Heaven, I am reminded that they did the electropop duo thing in 1979 before the likes of Soft Cell, Yazoo and Pet Shop Boys became household names.

There are a few gasps when in the middle Ron actually rises from the keyboards, comes to the front of the stage, takes off his tie and throws it to the audience before putting on the craziest of manic grins for the zaniest of solo dances.

The crowd were in the main respectful, perhaps worshipful as they sung, by contrast to the ends of songs which were greeted with a deafening roar.

It's the 70s classics that get the biggest cheer, from This Town, to the rapturous Never Turn Your Back On Mother Earth to the glam stomp of Amateur Hour and if there's the slightest of winges, they could have shoehorned in a few more of those chart hit crowd-pleasers.

Their exits before and after the encore saw the Maels take centre stage to lengthy standing ovations.

They express their love for Glasgow and "promise" to return "as soon as possible" after what is a triumph against all odds.