'Sparks In A Dark Room' is the second studio album by Dutch electronic group Minny Pops, originally released by Factory Benelux in May 1982.

Formed in Amsterdam in 1978 by vocalist Wally Van Middendorp, Minny Pops took their name from the primitive Korg drum machine which propelled their austere, post-punk rhythms and provocative live performances. An early association with Factory Records in Manchester saw the band work with producer Martin Hannett, share stages with Joy Division and New Order, and become the first Dutch band to record a BBC radio session for John Peel.

Self-produced by the group, 'Sparks In A Dark Room' was recorded without a guitarist, its smooth sequencers and motorik rhythms frequently redolent of Moroder, Kraftwerk and Cabaret Voltaire. Bonus tracks include non-album single Time/Lights, taped at the album sessions and released as a 7" single (FBN 11) in April 1982.

"Sparks In A Dark Room was the modest high point of the Ultra-revival, the avant-garde postpunk movement of which Amsterdam was the centre and Minny Pops the pioneers. After debut album Drastic Measures, Drastic Movement and the singles surrounding it - all of which were radical statements - Sparks sounded a bit more, ahem, normal. The frantic sounding rhythm box was exchanged for a real drummer, lead vocalist Wally van Middendorp attempted actual singing, the vibe became moody, and the sound (with its synth carpets in minor) merged nicely with Factory" (Oor, 04/2014)

"For a scene dominated by po-faced dullards, Minny Pops are welcome light relief. Although too eccentric to make sense of their regular comparisons to Interpol, this lavish expansion of their second album from 1982 is a good starting point, thanks to its Cabaret Voltaire pulse and Wally van Middendorp's tongue-in-cheek dark monologues" (Classic Pop, 06/2014)

"Sparks In A Dark Room is an under-the-radar masterpiece" (Uncut, 02/2012)

"The Interpol of their day, and it's aged surprisingly well" (Q Magazine, 04/2003)

"The cold menace of the album sounds remarkably fresh 20 years on, bearing favourable comparisons with contemporaries such as Simple Minds and Tubeway Army as well as the current crop of analogue pretenders" (Uncut, 05/2003)

"Fascinating. If you can keep a straight face while listening to Interpol, you'll love it" (Muzik, 05/2003)

"There's an implacable note of self-awareness and humour which separates the album from those by other practitioners of the style. I like that" (Brainwashed, 05/2003)