Mark Linkous of Sparklehorse is a classic alt-rock casualty, a man who once nearly died from a heart attack and whose music seems to seep out from shadows and dusty corners. Still, the stygian gloom of the Borderline was almost too much even for him and he was forced to ask for a little more light to be shed on the stage so the musicians could see what they were doing.
His three shows at London's most dungeon-like venue are intended to launch the group's new album, It's a Wonderful Life, though Linkous typically made no mention of the fact from the stage. He didn't even introduce any of the songs, though he did pause to murmur: "How d'you like the new band?" in his soft Virginia lilt. The crowd roared briefly in that nervous, shoegazing way Sparklehorse crowds prefer.
You have to settle back and allow Sparklehorse to creep over you surreptitiously since they avoid all pop's usual blandishments (zinging choruses, lyrics you can sing along to, riffs and so forth). Each song is like a little piece of a fuzzy mosaic, apparently insubstantial in itself but helping to make up a bigger picture, which grows clearer the further you stand away from it. Linkous likes to acknowledge the influence of Tom Waits but there's quite a bit of primitive Neil Young in his music too. From time to time the band cranked up the beat and set out on a ramshackle plod into the countryside with a bit of fiddle and banjo for company.
Elsewhere there might be some melancholy piano over a fragile, stately beat, while cello and violin entwine in long, aching harmonies. Linkous's vocals aren't much about words (though you'll occasionally catch him droning something about wisdom teeth or Christmas trees, and once he daringly broke cover to cry "a horse, my kingdom for a horse!"), but more to do with ambience and mood.
Sometimes he sounds like an old 78 record that's had treacle poured over it. At others he sounds miles away, as if he's singing down the wrong end of a megaphone. He's gone beyond low-fi into no-fi. Strange, but his disciples understand.
