The wildly in-demand Danger Mouse teams with the Sparklehorse (aka Mark Linkous) for this sonic journey. Originally released as an art book containing a blank CDR, Capitol landed the official release after months of negotiations. The journey contains guest appearances by such notables as Vic Chestnutt, The Flaming Lips, Suzanne Vega, Iggy Pop, David Lynch, and Black Francis, among a host of others.
I’ll be honest. While I absolutely dig this album, there is one hell of a lot to absorb here. This is not music that can be relegated to the background at a summer BBQ, it’s a deeply philosophical piece lyrically and musically. Danger Mouse does some absurdly awesome things here on tracks like the moving “Star Eyes (I Can’t Catch It)” and the amazing amalgam of sounds collected on “The Man Who Played God” and “Grim Augury.”
Like all truly classic albums though, the endcaps are what make Dark Night of the Soul timeless. “Revenge” opens the album with an almost searching tone that builds into reservedly strong crescendo that makes you feel every fiber of searching the song relates. Likewise, the album closes with the title track, an electronically soulful journey through hard places. What I love about this song is that it successfully incorporates so many things that should be at odds with each other. It’s absolutely brilliant.
Sadly, the release of Dark Night of the Soul comes on the heels of Linkous passing earlier this year. The album serves as an unquestionable testament to his talent as both and artists and an out-of-the- thinker. Danger Mouse gives these dark tones vibrant life, reminding me more than a little of seminal works by artists like Pink Floyd and The Flaming Lips. Fans of either band should definitely check out this album.
Reviewed by Mark Fisher
