Bird Machine. Sparklehorse

Mark Linkous is dead longer than this blog is old. He shot himself in 2010 at the age of 47, leaving behind a relatively small oeuvre under the name Sparklehorse. When he released his first album under that name, 'Vivadixiesubmarinetransmissionplot' in 1995, he was already in his 30s when recognition struck and moderate commercial success came with it. Before he died he had recorded songs with musical process manager or facilitator Steve Albini that were never finished. They were kept on the shelf until 2023.

Under the name Bird Machine the world can hear Linkous' latest recordings. What is left of the original, most likely elementary and bare, recordings I can't tell. The question what Linkous would have made of the recordings had he been able to keep his demons at bay, will never be answered.

His brother and sister-in-law took hold of the recordings and went to work with them in the spirit of Mark Linkous and as far as I'm concerned, they've done a great job. Most of the album sounds like a Sparklehorse album, with its characteristic changes between alternative rock and alternative ballads, its weird sounds, the distancing effects on his voice, a country song, who no one in Nashville will recognise as such, and what not, it's all there. What is missing are the hisses and noises of Sparklehorse's debut album, but then, was it present in the later albums? Full disclosure, it's years since I played one of them. I think I have three or four albums.

Bird Machine is a nice album and not just for nostalgic reasons. It lands just right with me. 'It Never Stops' is an ironic title in the face of my disclosure above. Fact is, I immediately got into the album because of this rocker, with the typical distortion on Linkous' voice. Estranging while rocking hard. Short and dirty sweet. 'Kind Ghosts' takes the mood down, the voice is vintage Linkous, the music as weird sounding as it is befitting. Be alert for the mood change when the acoustic guitar comes in. One instrument changes it all, while nothing else seems to change.

The third song, 'Evening Star Supercharger', is as normal as Sparklehorse comes. Without any effort it shows the fine songsmith Linkous was. This is such a sweet song. The flow is so nice, full of melancholy, of excepting things as they are and yet perfect, bittersweet pop. Had only this song been released posthumously, Sparklehorse's repertoire would have been tremendously enriched. Vinegar pissers may state that Mark Linkous would never have made the song this sweet. We'll never know, fact is the wrote and sung this melody and recorded it. The voice led the way for the the posthumous producers and this is the result. Great song.

All that comes after, another 10 songs, all vary between these three examples opening Bird Machine. Right up to the very end, I'm more than pleased with what I'm hearing. Whatever the original recordings sounded like, we'll probably have to live until the 10 to 40 year deluxe edition to find out. In the latter case chances are I never will. It's inconsequential. Bird Machine is a fine addition to Sparklehorse's oeuvre.

Wout de Natris

You can listen to and order Bird Machine here:

https://sparklehorse.bandcamp.com/album/bird-machine