SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: SPARKY’S MAGIC PIANO – NEVER TWICE THE SAME COLOUR

Sparky’s Magic Piano
Never Twice The Same Colour
Independent

There was rarely a middle ground with something that was labelled Britpop. That includes more or less anything that came out of UK from the late 80s up to mid-90s, either some great rock/pop or bland wallpaper stuff geared primarily for UK charts. Yet, the name and sound(s) stuck, still covering more or less anything that comes out of the British Isles and has different parts of rock and pop.

Based on those criteria, London-based duo Sparky’s Magic Piano’s latest offering, Never Twice the Same Colour, certainly fits all the above criteria and falls into that great rock/pop category. You can switch that definition into pop/rock, but husband/wife duo Oli Bartlett and Marion Bartlett seem to have acquired that synergy to pick up the musical elements solely on the criteria of what sounds good to them, often sitting pretty in what once got the name of baroque pop, with Marion’s vocals and intricate arrangements that include everything from strings to electronics dominating the proceedings.

Listening to all those elements put together, the duo seems to have quite a good and bright taste in music, which they skilfully combine together into poppy ditties like “Last Supper”, “NTSC”, and elsewhere on this quite enjoyable album.

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