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Much-revered alt-country troubadour Mark Linkous (for Sparklehorse is he, give or take a drummer or two) has never had as much success as his remarkable talents deserve. Always one of the more innovative artists to come out of the mid 1990's college radio rock boom, Linkous was as happy embracing electronica as he was gorgeous melodies, which led to collaborations with luminaries like PJ Harvey, Tom Waits and the Flaming Lips, and producing tracks by Nina Perrson and Death Cab for Cutie.
Somewhat startlingly, he's decided to release three limited edition singles across three weeks to celebrate the release of their fourth album, Dreamt For Light Years In The Belly Of A Mountain. It's almost as surprising as the fact that Sparklehorse even got to a fourth album - whilst touring his debut album Vivadixiesubmarinetransmissionplot Linkous suffered a well-publicised overdose, which stopped his heart for three minutes, and almost lost him his legs.
You wouldn't know it though, for the first of the EPs, Don't Take My Sunshine Away is as gorgeous and as celebratory of life as any song you'll hear this year, full of the kind of wonder and enchantment that only a near-death experience can leave you with. Put together with a kind of indie super team, with Mercury Rev's Dave Fridman and Dangermouse on knob twiddling duties, this is a beguiling, lolloping jaunt through the joy of just being alive, with vocals so tender you just want to throw a protective blanket around it.
Initially a simple love song, all Beach Boys harmonies and lines like "Your face is like watching flowers grow in fast motion," you start to feel Linkous, Fridman and Dangermouse's just itching to start casually lobbing tricks into the mix, which they do in the final few bars. Astonishingly, this works - as the fuzz and Flaming Lips-like squelchy beats flood in, it only serves to make Sparklehorse's final, plaintive "just please...don't take my sunshine away" more heartbreaking. Welcome back, Mark.
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