Tuesday 15 February 2011

Danger Mouse & Sparklehorse - Dark Night of The Soul

Right so I dug up the ol' unfinished review, had a glance through it and it kinda says what I want it to say so what the heck without me tweaking it and making it all nice, so click on Read More to see the whole thang.

Having co-helmed Gorillaz' 'Demon Days' album; produced 'The Good the Bad and the Queen' as well as taking a bigger-than-producer role in his new outfit 'Broken Bells,' the well-developed 'Dark Night of The Soul' project seems only a natural progression from these previous creative outlets.



















Dark Night of The Soul is a collaboration between Danger Mouse, alternative rock band Sparklehorse, film-maker David Lynch and many other artists including The Flaming Lips and Iggy Pop. I must confess that until now I had not heard of Sparklehorse and had no idea that David Lynch dabbled in projects such as these, let alone that he's in fact a rather good singer.

This fusion of a talented producer, a rock band and an eccentric film director is a harmonious encounter and the result is an incredibly unified album with an unmistakable film soundtrack quality to it. One could definitely label this as a concept album as all the songs are bonded together by dark themes and the overall tone of the album is incredibly sad and subdued. On a basic level we could compare the album with 'Dark Side of the Moon,' but instead of the artists writing about money, time, "us and them" etc. they're writing about pain, love, war, revenge and being drunk.

The ensemble of collaborative musicians are outstanding, bearing their souls with each one of them having something to get off their chest which results in some truly affecting songs that conjure up all manner of images. To accompany this already abundantly visual album, David Lynch has taken a series of stirring photos inspired by each song.









































Album opener 'Revenge' features the soft harmonised vocals of The Flaming Lips and delivers one of the greatest choruses they've ever written. Danger Mouse's intricate production values are omnipresent with each song having a subtle contemporary garnish that doesn't detract from the overall composition.

'Just War' sung by Gruff Rhys - an almost modern day Beatles-esque song that contains numerous examples of Danger Mouse's gentle touch. For example the warbled effect on the closing whistled refrain and how the traffic sounds near the start of the song are neatly diffused into the mix once the song gets into full swing.

The plodding 'Jaykub' follows with its uplifting chorus that conjures up a slow-motion montage of feel-good moments.

'Little Girl,' driven by the fast-paced singing of Julian Casablancas is a definite album highlight with a catchy chorus and dazzling Santana-like solo. 

It is after this point in the album that some characters really begin to emerge. After an eerily glitchy electronic beat an unexpected burst of heavy guitar hits you. "Aaam plucking all day on mah angel's harp!" Black Francis from the Pixies is transformed, stomping like a rampaging, yet tuneful old man yelling from his rocking chair.

After this comes 'Pain' - the nostalgic and trembling vocals of a skinny, cigarette-clutching old fellow in a worn-out old suit spouting life lessons. The melodious 'Pain' is another high point of the album, mixing Iggy Pop's crabby vocals with fast-paced guitar, harp flourishes and wonderfully messy guitar solos.

Granted these aforementioned "characters" aren't that dissimilar from the actual singers themselves but none the less you can see what I'm getting at. 

After those two high energy tracks comes David Lynch's first offering, the ethereal 'Star Eyes (I Can't Catch It)' with its arpeggiated guitar and Nine Inch Nails style glockenspiel underpinned by Lynch's dreamy voice. 

The doughy, almost drunken vocals of Jason Lytle are perfectly suited to 'Everytime I'm with You' - a song about someone getting drunk and messed up every time they're with a particular person. The muffled fairground organs knit themselves into Lytle's voice as spaghetti western style guitars are softly strummed to hold the chorus together. 

I suppose that the only lull in the album is 'Insane Lullaby' which features James Mercer - lead singer of The Shins and more recently Broken Bells. The track is completely dwarfed by heavy distortion and static and although it is perhaps meant to serve as a foil to the mellow vocals, it really is a distraction and prevents the song from ever being tuneful and listenable.

The following 'Daddy's Gone' sung by Nina Persson is by no means outstanding but it is a most soothing relief on the ears after 'Insane Lullaby.' The simple song structure, tuneful harmonies and country vibe are very refreshing. Nothing to write home about but it certainly has it's place on this album.

Whatever happened to The Cardigans? Well not much, but leading lady Suzanne Vega has given her whispery vocals to "The Man Who Played God" and it's a pleasure to hear her voice again. The lyrics of the bridge go "All things you can see around you, you can change them, rearrange them, in your mind." I'm not sure what her intentions were when she wrote this song but to me it feels like a sweet mother is trying to re-assure their child by filling their mind with wonder and making them believe that they can be in control and make things good again.

The next song truly stands out on the album for its particularly disturbing and highly visual lyrics is 'Grim Augury' featuring the late Vic Chesnutt who delivers a sincerely haunting tune. "Both our families at a gathering, we're cutting the baby out, with my grandmothers heirloom, antler-handled carving knife." "Catfish were wriggling in blood and gore in the kitchen sink." It genuinely comes across as a harrowing autobiographical account being emotionally delivered and detailed by a broken and distressed Chesnutt.

As the crackling piano chords of 'Dark Night of The Soul' plod on, David Lynch returns like some sort of unearthly spirit on a haunted record to bring the album to its close. 

Danger Mouse, Sparklehorse, David Lynch and all the talented collaborators on this project have together created a sincerely moving album which is unlike anything I've heard in a long time. 











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