Sparks, Angst in My Pants (side A)

1982's Angst in My Pants falls chronologically between No. 1 in Heaven and In Outer Space, but it's more rock-oriented and bombastic than either.  Sparks remained modern after No. 1 in Heaven, with regimented rhythms (though it sounds like a drummer playing to a click and not a drum machine) and even dynamics with little range.  The renewed emphasis on guitars, when coupled with these tendencies, created a big-sounding album that's probably the duo's most emphatic.  While this approach de-emphasizes Russell Mael's amazing songwriting, Angst in My Pants still features some memorable classics.  Some songs, like "Sherlock Holmes",  retain the subtlety of Mael's early songwriting, while others, like "I Predict", entwine the compositional style closely with this new production approach.  Ron Mael's voice has been thinned and compressed to fit into this modern style, but his takes remain expressive and emotive.  The exaggerated cover image nicely ties Angst in My Pants to earlier Sparks albums, with the Mael brothers once again creating a narrative through one picture.