SPARKLEHORSE レコード& CD

Review: When a revered artist leaves this world too soon, they always leave behind a web of unanswered questions, and that's especially true of Sparklehorse's Mark Linkous. When he took his own life in 2010, he was midway through recording his fifth album with Steve Albini at the legendary producer's Static King studio. It's taken some time in the wake of the sudden loss, but finally Linkous' brother Matt and sister-in-law Melissa found the right way to approach finishing the project and presenting it in honour of the Sparklehorse legacy. For the fans who were left wondering what might have been, this is a hugely significant means of closure for a modern day great of US indie rock.

Review: Bird Machine is the upcoming posthumous album by Sparklehorse, the indie rock project of American musician Mark Linkous, who died by suicide in 2010. The album was intended to be his fifth, following 2006's Dreamt for Light Years In The Belly Of A Mountain. Finalised with the help of producer Steve Albini in 2009, one might be able to predict - not least in characteristic Sparklehorse fashion - that this is a full compendium of melancholic, folk-country croons and drawls, with added sprinklings of noise and lo-fi. Completed by Linkous' brother Matt, and sister-in-law Melissa, an eerie quality permeates the entire release with the above context in mind.