In August 2025, Sparks keyboardist Ron Mael celebrated his 80th birthday, but if there was ever a group that proves age is just a number, it’s this fraternal LA institution. Ron and his lead-singer brother, Russell, remain rock’s most seasoned satirists, their singular mix of cunning cultural commentary and electro-glam experimentation losing none of its zing after more than a half-century in the game. MADDER! arrives on the heels of the duo’s 26th studio album, MAD!, and amazingly, it marks the first EP entry in their dense discography. However, this isn’t merely a collection of leftovers: Recorded in the wake of MAD!’s May 2025 release, these four tracks constitute a stand-alone sequel that harnesses its predecessor’s live-wire energy in more delightfully unpredictable ways. Beginning as a space-age bachelor-pad synth doodle, the cheeky femme-fatale character study “Porcupine” reveals itself to be a glitter-rock stomper that harkens back to the duo’s mid-’70s masterworks—at least until the chirpy mariachi horns start poking through the mix. By contrast, “Fantasize” uses Russell’s repeated “no no no no” refrain as the bouncy-beat foundation for an operatic rendering of unrequited desire, while “Mess Up” is a dizzying swirl of carnivalesque keyboards and hiccuping rhythms. But the Maels ease off the manic momentum for the EP’s slow-building finale, “They,” which oozes out like Bowie’s “Fame” left to melt in the sun before achieving liftoff with a surge of spine-tingling strings and choral chants.