I can’t remember exactly what prompted me to buy this album when it first came out, I just remember it was a really crass reason (I think Thom Yorke had said they were his favourite band, or something… sad). Whatever the reason, this has been a firm favourite on my laser turntable spindle since the first time I heard it.

Sparklehorse is the work (in large) of one man, Mark Linkous. He writes everything, sings everything, and plays a lot of the instruments on everything. Musically Sparklehorse are kind of laid back modern minimalist country, and vocally Linkous could well have a timeshare agreement on Neil Young’s lungs, larynx and mouth. Their songs either slide by with a languid heart-rending sigh, or they thunder-on-through like a demented buffalo.

Songs like ‘Homecoming Queen’, ‘Saturday’, ‘Cow’, and ‘The Most Beautiful Widow in Town’ are the greatest country ballads that Neil Young never wrote. They are evocative, enticing, and enveloping. But the album is always challenging — breaking up these melancholy moments are some of the most insanely catchy, bouncy guitar-based songs you could wish to hear (‘Rainmaker’ and the incredible ‘Someday I Will Treat You Good’ would stand out on any album). Then there are the weird improvised instrumental breaks, like ‘850 Double Pumper Holley’, and ‘Little Bastard Choo-Choo’. Linkous even manages to whip out a mellotron on ‘Ballad of a Lost Cold Marble’.

Another notable thing is Linkous quality as a lyricist. The couplets just seem to spew out (“The sweat ran down your face and into your mouth/ I knew I must be dreaming, ‘cos your mother would never let me in her house” (Most Beautiful Widow…) ). Little quirky collections of words (“Sparkling drum sets / Murders of crows” (Cow) ) evoke a twisted mid-Western diorama, and some of the choruses are just astonishing in their simplicity (“Pretty girl, look at a cow / Aw yeah…” (Cow) ).

‘Hammering The Cramps’ (not a song about pummelling punk rockabillies) is a favourite, and its energy is captured perfectly here. In fact, every single track has a definite live feel — you get the impression Linkous just strummed away in the studio, recorded the first takes, then just shoved them together with minimal mixing. This proves very refreshing in the current age of pitch-shifting, time-stretching, computer-processing and infinite virtual tracks.

The high-point of the whole album though (aside from the title, which apparently refers to a dream that Linkous had while recording the album) is the track ‘Spirit Ditch’. The song is slow slow slow — building tiny piece by piece toward the end — Linkous voice is cracking all the way, as he leads us through his “spirit ditch” (depression): “I woke up in a burned out basement/ Sleeping with metal hands in a spirit ditch…”. I’m not quite sure what every word means, but I defy anybody to not identify with every single syllable. This is a heartbreak track, for sure. Its beauty only seems to grow over time, and the fact that it is followed by the harsh stomping chords of ‘Tears On Fresh Fruit’ only heightens its sensitivity.

I spent a few months in Charlottesville, VA (Linkous’ home-town) several years ago, and the relaxed, sun-dappled feeling I got walking around the woods, and the nearby Blue-Ridge Mountains is the feeling I get when I listen to this album. But the frustration I felt when confronted with the spoilt children of senators and highflying businesspeoples in the town itself (Charlottesville is home to UVa, the university of choice for such people) is also reflected in the music.

In short if you like Neil Young, you’ll love this. And if you really *feel*, then you’ll love this even more.