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Sparklehorse

From Alfawiki
Sparklehorse
Company typeIndie rock group
IndustryMusic
Founded1995
FounderMark Linkous
Defunct2010
Headquarters
Richmond, Virginia
,
United States
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
Mark Linkous (frontman)
ProductsMusic albums, EPs, singles

Sparklehorse was an American indie rock group originating from Richmond, Virginia, fronted by vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Mark Linkous. The band was active from 1995 until Linkous’s passing in 2010. It emerged from Linkous’s earlier local projects, Johnson Family and Salt Chunk Mary, with only the track "Someday I Will Treat You Good" transitioning into the new formation. The name Sparklehorse was selected by Linkous for its sonorous quality and its symbolic link to a motorcycle. Initial lineup members featured Paul Watson (banjo, cornet, lap steel guitar, electric guitar), Scott Minor (drums, chord organ, banjo), Johnny Hott (Wurlitzer organ, percussion, backing vocals), and Scot Fitzsimmons (standup bass).

History

The band's first album, Vivadixiesubmarinetransmissionplot (1995), produced by David Lowery of Cracker, gained moderate popularity on college radio. In 1996, while on a European tour with Radiohead, Linkous experienced a near-fatal overdose in a London hotel involving a combination of anti-depressants, valium, alcohol, and heroin. He remained unconscious for almost 14 hours, resulting in serious medical issues including acute kidney failure and temporary paralysis, necessitating six months of wheelchair use.

After this incident, the album Good Morning Spider (1998) was produced. Despite critics associating its melancholic atmosphere with Linkous’s health crisis, much of the material had been composed prior to the event. The song "St. Mary" pays tribute to the nursing staff who cared for him during his recovery.

In 1999, Sparklehorse played at Toronto’s Horseshoe Tavern. Their 2001 release, It's a Wonderful Life, featured guest appearances by artists such as Tom Waits, PJ Harvey, and Nina Persson. Differing from previous albums primarily recorded solo at Linkous’s Virginia farm, this record embraced greater collaboration and was engineered by Joel Hamilton. Linkous expressed contentment with the album's sound but desired more experimental elements.

On September 25, 2006, Sparklehorse unveiled their fourth studio album, Dreamt for Light Years in the Belly of a Mountain, working alongside producers including Danger Mouse, Christian Fennesz, and Steven Drozd. The album featured the single "Don't Take My Sunshine Away" as well as reimagined versions of tracks like "Shade And Honey" and "Morning Hollow."

In 2008, Sparklehorse contributed a cover of "Jack's Obsession" to the compilation Nightmare Revisited. The subsequent year saw a collaboration with Danger Mouse and filmmaker David Lynch on Dark Night of the Soul, an album characterized as “spooky” and “bittersweet,” particularly following Linkous’s death.

Also in 2009, Linkous teamed up with ambient musician Christian Fennesz to produce the experimental EP In the Fishtank 15, followed by a European tour.

Linkous died by suicide in Knoxville, Tennessee, on March 6, 2010, marking the end of Sparklehorse. In 2023, the unfinished album Bird Machine, which Linkous had been working on before his death, was completed by his brother and sister-in-law and released on September 8.

Studio albums

EPs

Compilations

Singles

  • "Spirit Ditch" / "Waiting for Nothing" (7" vinyl, 1995, US release)
  • "Hammering the Cramps" / "Too Late" (7" vinyl, 1995, US)
  • "Someday I Will Treat You Good" / "Rainmaker" (7", February 1996, reached No. 35 on US Modern Rock Tracks)
  • "Someday I Will Treat You Good" / "London" / "In The Dry" (7" & CD formats, February 1996, UK)
  • "Hammering the Cramps" / "Spirit Ditch" / "Dead Opera Star" / "Midget In A Junkyard" (available on both 7" and CD, April 1996)
  • "Rainmaker" / "I Almost Lost My Mind" / "Intermission" / "Homecoming Queen (Live On KCRW)" / "Gasoline Horseys (Live On KCRW)" (7" and double CD set, August 1996, reached No. 61 on the UK Singles Chart)
  • "Come On In" / "Blind Rabbit Choir" (7", February 1998, US release)
  • "Maria's Little Elbows" / "Painbirds" / "Wish You Were Here" featuring Thom Yorke (Pink Floyd cover) / "Haint" (CD format, July 1998)
  • "Sick of Goodbyes" / "Good Morning Spider (BBC Radio 1 Evening Session)" (7", October 1998, UK charted at No. 57)
  • "Sick of Goodbyes" / "Happy Place" / "Happy Pig (BBC Radio 1 Evening Session)" / "Shot A Dog" / "Gasoline Horseys (Live)" (double CD set, October 1998, UK No. 57)
  • "Gold Day" / "Heloise" / "Devil's New" / Maxine" (CD single, July 2001)
  • "Don't Take My Sunshine Away" / "Ghost In The Sky" / "Knives of Summertime" (CD single released on September 4, 2006)
  • "Don't Take My Sunshine Away" / "Galveston" (Jimmy Webb/Glen Campbell cover) (7", September 4, 2006)
  • "Ghost in the Sky" / "Marigold" (7", September 11, 2006)
  • "Knives of Summertime" / "Caroline" (7", September 18, 2006, US release)

Various artists compilations

  • Contribution of "Heart of Darkness" to Dear Charlottesville compilation (1995)
  • Inclusion of "Heart of Darkness" on Cowpunks album (1996)
  • Featured track "Sad & Beautiful World" on the Boys Soundtrack compilation (1996)
  • Cover of Vic Chesnutt's "West of Rome" included in Sweet Relief II: Gravity of the Situation compilation (1996)
  • Appearance of "Hammering The Cramps" on both Chicago Cab Soundtrack and Q Magazine's Mmmmm... CD issue Q118 (July 1996)
  • Collaboration with Thom Yorke on "Wish You Were Here", a Pink Floyd cover featured on VOX Magazine's chEMIstry: A Hundred Years Of EMI CD release (November 1997)
  • Track “Maria's Little Elbows” included on MOJO Magazine's compilation The MOJO Machine Turns You On – Let MOJO Take You There, Volume 6 (July 1998)
  • Cover of “Hey Joe” featured on UNCUT Magazine's Unconditionally Guaranteed, issue UG-17 CD compilation (January 1999)
  • Multiple songs featured across compilations such as Dreamworld: Essential Late Night Listening (2000), UNCUT Magazine’s Unconditionally Guaranteed 2000.8, and MOJO Magazine’s Love Will Tear You Apart – Tracks Of Hurt, Pain & Despair
  • Contributions to various tribute albums and soundtracks including Laurel Canyon, The Late Great Daniel Johnston: Discovered Covered, and MOJO Magazine tributes dedicated to Johnny Cash
  • Recent inclusions encompass tracks for WORD Magazine’s NowHearThis! and latest UNCUT Magazine compilations released up through October 2023

Contributions to Cracker recordings

Filmography

  • Southern Man: Sparklehorse (1998, VPRO, duration: 50 minutes)
  • This is Sparklehorse (2019, Seven & Seven, 90-minute documentary)

Legacy

In March 2020, Spin highlighted that Linkous earned greater admiration among fellow musicians such as PJ Harvey, Nina Persson, and Tom Waits than he did widespread mainstream fame.

External links

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