Stream: Sam Sparro, ‘Everything’

Kevin Bronson on November 6th, 2019

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Back in the day, pop alchemist Sam Sparro struck gold — er, platinum — with the single “Black and Gold.”

Since then, the Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter-producer has been in and out of the pop spotlight as both an artist and collaborator (when not pursuing his other passion, photography). The Australian, who celebrates his 37th birthday this week, hasn’t released an album since 2012, but he kept the flame burning with his three-part “Quantum Physical” EPs from 2013-16.

On Friday, Sparro announced that his third full-length, “Boombox Eternal,” would be out Feb. 21. The music is an homage to the sounds of ’80s and ’90s. “The project is a love letter to my 8-year-old self and to the music that made me want to be an artist,” he says. “The songs are mostly about love but also about power and breaking through boundaries.”

If the new single “Everything” sounds like you’re happily caught in a time warp, it’s because Sparro utilized the palette of industrial-sounding percussion and classic synthesizers used by Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis on Janet Jackson’s “Rhythm Nation.” That’s a definite nod to New Jack Swing.

The single, co-written with Rahsaan Patterson and Tim K, follows last month’s release of “Outside the Blue,” a collaboration with We are KING (fka KING). In true O.G. fashion, Sparro released the song as a maxi single.

“Boombox Eternal” finds Sparro working with multi-Grammy winning mixer Josh Gudwin, and all of the album’s singles will get the same treatment “Outside the Blue” did. “The project is a tribute to the era of maxi singles, cassingles and 12″ records,” Sparro says. “I wanted that to be reflected in the releases… As a record collector I always love finding vinyl that has all those extra versions on the B-side, and wanted to give that to my listeners, too.”

||| Stream: “Everything”