Balls (Sparks album)

Balls
The cover art for Balls, which originally came out in a variety of colors.
Studio album by Sparks
Released	August 22, 2000
Recorded	1998–1999
Studio	Sparks Studios, Los Angeles, California
Genre	Techno electronic rock[1]
Length	48:45
Label	Oglio (US) Recognition (UK)
Producer	Ron Mael Russell Mael
Sparks chronology
Plagiarism (1997) Balls (2000) Lil' Beethoven (2002)
Singles from Balls
"More than a Sex Machine" Released: September 1999 "The Calm Before the Storm" Released: August 2000 "The Angels" Released: 2000

Balls is the 18th album by the American rock band Sparks, released in 2000.^[2]

Balls was a continuation of the techno-pop style that the duo had first explored on 1994's Gratuitous Sax & Senseless Violins, but employed harder, more uptempo beats, as well as a direct, aggressive approach derived from acts such as The Prodigy.^[3] The album was packaged in a translucent jewel case that came in a variety of colours (red, yellow, green, blue, orange, black, and turquoise), with a reflective die-cut silver slipcase.

"It's a Knockoff" was recorded for the movie Knock Off, starring Jean-Claude Van Damme, directed by the acclaimed Hong Kong–based producer–director Tsui Hark^[4] (who had appeared on his own tribute song by the band on Gratuitous Sax & Senseless Violins). It is featured over the closing credits.

Whilst critical reception of Balls was moderately positive, it was not a success in terms of chart performance and failed to match the performance of Gratuitous Sax & Senseless Violins. It did not chart in Germany, UK or US. "More Than a Sex Machine", "The Calm Before the Storm" and "The Angels" were released as singles but did not pick up any significant sales or radio play. The duo had already written a follow-up to Balls in a similar vein. However, the album's poor reception convinced them to abandon it and pursue a new direction entirely on 2002's Lil' Beethoven.