Dreamt For Light Years In The Belly Of A Mountain - Sparklehorse Album Review

Album Review

Sparklehorse is Mark Linkous, an enigmatic guy from North Carolina who's battled severe depression, and has been out in the wilderness for the best part of half a decade. Lured, in part, due to collaborator Danger Mouse, his follow-up to 2001's ironic It's A Wonderful Life is not exactly alt-country, but as near as your probably going to get. In addition to some steadily beautiful haunting ballads, complete with FX tweaking, which make up the bulk of the album, there's jarring rock blasts. Ghost In The Sky/ It's Not So Hard beef things up for a while, though they feel (pointless) impulsive and gratuitous, instead of some kind of genuine creative intention. Ambling along, the majority posses an ethereal ambiance, bolstered by some studio wizardry which adds to the unique listening experience, perfectly captured on Getting It Wrong.

More accessibility happens on perkier Shade And Honey and Beatlesesque Some Sweet Day: both would make a good singles as intros to Linkous' off-beat music. The sparseness of Return To Me provides the jewel in the crown.

Elsewhere, wholesome scratchy lightweight rock ballad Mountain adds a bit of rasp, turning out to be the sharpest song of the lot, even if it concludes in some cacophonous confusion. At seven minutes long, snoozy Morning Hollow's limping duet with Sophie Michalitsianos is the sonic landscape for relaxation purposes, as is the protracted title track.

Elly Roberts