Sports, the Oklahoma duo we first met more than ten years ago through indie pop hits like ‘You Are the Right One’ or soft pop tunes such as ‘Baby Baby,’ has decided that their fifth album will be their first self-titled effort and also their first self-produced one. Perhaps because it served as a way to reintroduce themselves to the public, it is also their most pop record.
Sports have managed to put it together on their own in a studio they built in Tulsa, where they are from, although they clarify that the space itself “is not self-produced,” but had existed beforehand.
Although the album includes organic moments that recall the group’s early years, such as the exquisite ‘Don’t Forget About Me,’ it is above all a pop-funk record (‘My Superstar’) and electronic rock (‘Nice 2 Meet Myself’) that prioritizes the textures of glossy plastic-sounding synthesizers, as pronounced as in ‘Jelly,’ and also a lot of Auto-Tune, as heard in the charming ‘Magic Trick,’ which includes what seem to be sitar chords.
There is a meticulous attention to production and instrumentation, including the way layers of synths or guitars enter, and the vocal melodies are as falsetto-driven and as pleasant as ever. It is the ideal register for tracks like the catchy disco-funk ‘If You Want Me,’ although as you reach tracks like ‘Stay Mad’ the flavor begins to fade.
Sports explain that, while they were crafting their most contemporary album, they wondered if they could play arenas. In that sense, romantic lyrics like those of ‘Keep Falling in Love’ are as accessible as they are stereotyped (“one too many times we went down swinging / looking back at the phone but it’s not ringing”). It’s not that they intended to make an album of lyric-heavy songs. Although some may find a certain charm in lines like “you’re too busy drinking, sweet Juliet / don’t mean to be such a Capulet,” this is an album meant to savor the care put into composition, melodies, and instrumentation; a pleasing evolution of their offering.
SPORTS will present the album in Spain on November 12 in Madrid’s Sala Changó and on November 13 in Barcelona’s Razzmatazz 2
