Sparklehorse - Good Morning Spider (1998)

1) Pig; 2) Painbirds; 3) Saint Mary; 4) Good Morning Spider; 5) Sick of Goodbyes; 6) Box of Stars (Part One); 7) Sunshine; 8) Chaos of the Galaxy/Happy Man; 9) Hey, Joe; 10) Come On In; 11) Maria’s Little Elbows; 12) Cruel Sun; 13) All Night Home; 14) Ghost of His Smile; 15) Hundreds of Sparrows; 16) Box of Stars (Part Two); 17) Junebug

Chaotic and peaceful at the same time: the conflicting moods of a man in recovery, captured in vulnerable melodies and the occasional throwback to the wilder days.

Key tracks: "Pig", "Chaos of the Galaxy/Happy Man", "Maria's Little Elbows"

The thematic heart of Good Morning Spider is “Chaos of the Galaxy/Happy Man”, which is aptly located right in its center. “Happy Man” is a fantastic 90s indie rock classic and a rare example of the oft-worn out Mark Linkous most high on life - exuberantly looking outwards, culminating in a most triumphant chorus where Linkous shouts his desperation away. The chaos of the galaxy eats it away though, in the form of a radio static that dips in and out of its echo-filled emotional distance, obscuring Linkous’ lust for life with its persistent hum that sometimes drowns the song completely. It effectively distorts what could have been a true break-out moment for Sparklehorse, seemingly in an act of self-sabotage. It however makes for a fitting allegory for the whole of Good Morning Spider and Linkous’ state of mind within.

Shortly after the first Sparklehorse album Linkous suffered a drug overdose that left him legally dead for a brief moment before he miraculously pulled through. The incident caused a great ripple: Linkous attributed the melancholy, dream-like textures and the frail mood of his later albums to his brain’s chemical state having been permanently altered by his near-death experience. Good Morning Spider is the transition. It’s an album of convalescence: Linkous’ ache is all over the songs, his energy sapped but will pushing through.

“Pig” opens the album like none of that ever happened, with a cheeky punk rage that rolls and roars in a fun, chaotic fashion. It’s a huge red herring though, because as soon as it’s over Linkous collapses. The off-beat 90s American indie streak of the debut album is recognisably present, but it progressively gets overtaken by quiet mid-tempo mood pieces and a persistent atmosphere of weary bittersweetness. Early cuts like “Pig” or the most Vivadixie-esque “Sick of Goodbyes” quickly make space for simple songs where Linkous’ filtered vocals sound like they’re separated by a great distance from the rest. Out of all the Sparklehorse albums this is the quietest, almost meditatively so. Perhaps predictably its greatest parts are where that stillness gets broken: apart from any already mentioned, its the likes of the deceptively perky “Ghost of His Smile”, elegiac “Hundreds of Sparrows” and the soaring, incredibly pretty “Maria’s Little Elbows” (Linkous really had a damn good knack for a killer hook, even if he often understated it) which you take with you from Good Morning Spider.

Without undermining the strengths of Good Morning Spider, it’s not an album that boasts with its songwriting. These aren’t show-off songs and they rarely bother with even entertaining the thoughts, but they sound gorgeous and they do it with a sense of depth to them. A stream of consciousness runs strongly through the Sparklehorse discography all the way from the surreal nature of the lyrics, but on Good Morning Spider that sense is the strongest. The bulk of it doesn’t bounce out and grip the listener that way, but the obviously therapeutic nature they had on Linkous comes out in a frail, intimate beauty that’s strong in its own right. They’re songs that you may not hum away from the album but which feel essential when you play them.

The greatest part of “Chaos of the Galaxy/Happy Man” is in its last third, where the “Happy Man” portion has been completely eaten away by the noise right as it had started to explode – and then the song starts pushing back, growing in volume until it breaks free from the static and bursts out with all its strength right as it starts to take flight. It’s a true moment of triumph, not just artistically and musically, but also conceptually - it’s Linkous tearing away his medical demons for one brief moment of victory. For all its pain, Good Morning Spider isn’t a sad album. It’s about recovery.

Rating: 8/10

Sparklehorse - Vivadixiesubmarinetransmissionplot (1995)

1) Homecoming Queen; 2) Weird Sisters; 3) 850 Double Pumper Holley; 4) Rainmaker; 5) Spirit Ditch; 6) Tears on Fresh Fruit; 7) Saturday; 8) Cow; 9) Little Bastard Choo Choo; 10) Hammering the Cramps; 11) Most Beautiful Widow in Town; 12) Heart of Darkness; 13) Ballad of a Cold Lost Marble; 14) Someday I Will Treat You Good; 15) Sad & Beautiful World; 16) Gasoline Horseys

Sparklehorse at their most lucid; still slotting nicely into the wave of 90s indie eccentrics. Classic US indie sound but something's still amiss.

Key tracks: "Saturday", "Cow", "Someday I Will Treat You Good"

An important part of the Sparklehorse mythology is Mark Linkous’ accidental drug overdose: both Linkous’ mindset and music changed permanently after the incident that rendered him clinically dead for a few fleeting moments and which he never really recovered from fully. The traditional Sparklehorse elements consist of a beautiful haziness, an oddly uplifting melancholy and a frail joy to be alive despite how aching it can be. Vivadixiesubmarinetransmissionplot was Linkous’ only album recorded under the Sparklehorse moniker before his near-death experience and it lacks the overaching atmosphere and mood that dominates all the other Sparklehorse albums. It’s strikingly lucid: lively, clear and often without any filters or vocal effects. If Linkous’ overdose sent him to an everlasting melancholy weariness (which would, sadly, ultimately be the end of him), on Vivadixie he’s wide awake. 

Without that haze Linkous slots in nicely within the mid/late-90s US alternative/indie scene - very quirky and eager to play by its own rules but equally very tuneful, with the dry production and tight band interplay associated with the sound. Linkous is backed here by members of Cracker whose experience playing together translates even to his songs and while it’s clear that he’s in charge, there’s an attempt here to present Sparklehorse as a full, real band, certainly moreso than later on. Linkous’ penchant for fragile beauty is already showing up but it’s frequently interrupted by moments of interspersed wild liveliness and borderline raucousness, filtered through his usual surrealist lyrical imagery. The ramshackle “Rainmaker” and “Hammering the Cramps”, the honest-to-god unabashed alternative anthem “Someday I Will Treat You Good” and especially the absurd, banjo-twiddling, guitar-revving alternate dimension stadium anthem “Cow” show off Linkous’ whimsy and vigour that would largely get buried underneath later on. They’re also Vivadixie at their best - the album really comes to life when the band do as well and in particular “Cow” is a standout moment in the whole Sparklehorse discography, even if it’s hindered by its pivotal hook moment being something as (intentionally) inane as “pretty girl, milking a cow”. But then, that too is part of the consciously odd charm.

The tender side of Sparklehorse that would later on become the defining one is still a running presence throughout Vivadixie, though favouring sparser arrangements as a contrast to the more energetic full-band plays. They are good songs - and the chorus of “Saturday” features one of Linkous’ all time loveliest melodies - but there’s plenty of them and they all rely on the same bag of tricks. It doesn’t make e.g. “Spirit Ditch” or “Sad & Beautiful World” any less pretty, but they do start to run samey as they start piling up. Linkous had already been active in music for quite a while before this album, but there is a hint of him still figuring out his solo voice here - it’s very much a diamond in the rough kind of debut, and it’s most apparent in the calmer moments you can’t help but compare with all the similar ones from the later albums. 

The matter of the fact is that for me, the reason I fell in love with Sparklehorse was that overarching, wistful beauty that covers the music all across his later albums. While generally Linkous’ is by and far the same songwriter here as he would always be, the particular mood and resonant atmosphere that really make his music are missing. There are other elements filling those gaps on Vivadixie but there are rough edges here and there, both in form of songs that are almost there but not quite yet, as well as in decisions like including the completely pointless, sound collage-esque interludes. Linkous would later on go to say that he had little idea what he was going for with the album and you can get a sense of that, even if the music’s really good. Vivadixie is arguably the least of the four Sparklehorse albums, but you could still confidently say thjat it’s nonetheless a borderline essential album in his small discography, thanks to its high points. And in addition, it’s an interesting glimpse into Linkous’ sound without its most identifiable element - the start of a what-could-have-been path before it got derailed into a different direction.   

Rating: 7/10