Dark Night of the Soul
4/5
Dull record-label legal wranglings meant the musical project of Sparklehorse and Danger Mouse – with David Lynch supplying some 50 photographs – nearly never saw the (official) light of day. Which would have been a tremendous shame, given the cast, which includes Nina Persson, Iggy Pop, Black Francis and The Flaming Lips.
With highlights such as the symphonic Americana of ‘Just War’ (from the Super Furries’ Gruff Rhys), Julian Casablancas’s laconic shimmy on ‘Little Girl’ and the boozy organ waltz that is ‘Everytime I’m with You’ with Grandaddy’s Jason Lytle, this is a fantastic clutch of songs. With Sparklehorse (aka Mark Linkous)’s suicide in March and Vic Chesnutt’s death just a few months earlier (he contributes to ‘Grim Augury’), it’s hard to listen to DNOTS without feeling the weight of tragedy, but this is a fitting, if unplanned tribute. A beautiful testament to Linkous’s raw, mercurial talent.
