Sparklehorse - Dreamt For Light Years In The Belly Of The Mountain (2006)

With their latest album, Dreamt For Light Years In The Belly Of The Mountain, Sparklehorse have created - in my opinion - one of the finest albums of recent times. The group creates music that is laden with joy, sadness, angst, and acceptance, often within the one song.
Sparklehorse is not so much a band, as the musical creation of Mark Linkous - lead singer, song-writer, and the only constant member in the band’s ten-plus year existence. Linkous has had a somewhat difficult career trajectory, which has included recurring bouts of severe depression and debilitating drug addiction, along with the release of a number of excellent albums that have been critically praised, yet have failed commercially. The band’s 2001 album, It’s A Wonderful Life, is one of my all-time favorite albums, and the fact that it did not introduce Sparklehorse to the music listening public at large is baffling!
Dreamt For Light Years In The Belly Of The Mountain serves up the same sonic brilliance of its 2001 predecessor, using all manner of weird sounds to craft songs of sonically textured wonderment. For those unfamiliar with Sparklehorse’s sound, two of Linkous’ collaborators on this album - Stephen Drozd (Flaming Lips), Dave Fridmann (Mercury Rev / Flaming Lips producer) - may provide some indication of where Sparklehorse lie musicically.
The music, for the most part is ethereal, tranquil and uplifting. Songs such as Shade and Honey, Some Sweet Day and Morning Hollow are all fine examples of Sparklehorse's gentler side, while Ghost In The Sky and It's Not So Hard show that the band are not afraid of rocking a little harder.

Check Out: www.myspace.com/sparklehorse