Product Description

The long awaited follow-up to 2001's 'It's A Wonderful Life', 'Dreamt For Lightyears In The Belly Of A Mountain' is thefourth studio album from the enigmatic Mark Linkous and friends. Featuring contributions from Tom Waits, The Flaming Lips' Stephen Drozd and Dangermouse, the record offers fans another helping of Linkous' unique brand of warped alt-rock. At points melodious and up-beat yet at others melancholy and restrained, 'Dreamt For Lightyears...' marks a triumphant return for Sparklehorse. Includes the singles 'Ghost In The Sky', 'Don't Take My Sunshine Away' and 'Knives Of Summertime'.

Track Listing

1. Don't Take My Sunshine Away
2. Getting It Wrong
3. Shade And Honey
4. See The Light (1)
5. Return To Me
6. Some Sweet Day
7. Ghost In The Sky
8. Mountains
9. Morning Hollow
10. It's Not So Hard
11. Knives Of Summertime
12. Dreamt For Light Years In The Belly Of A Mountain

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #22218 in Music
• Released on: 2007-04-23
• Number of discs: 1

Amazon.co.uk Review
Battling his own personal demons while he has been highly coveted as a producer for other bands, singer/songwriter Mark Linkous' output with his own Sparklehorse has been as irregular as it is ingenious. And it's been five years since the candid album It's a Wonderful Life welcomed a clean and sober Linkous, crafting the same divine and bizarre songs that have come to define his North Carolina-based band. That inclination continues here with the peculiar frontman punctuating his songs with mentions of ghosts and knives and mountaintops, and presenting them with a murmured, spaced-out and psychedelic soundtrack. The up-tempo, bundle-of-nerves pop songs "It's Not So Hard" and Guided by Voices twin "Ghost in the Sky," though luscious, seem out of place among slow and startling ballads like "Getting It Wrong," "See the Light" or, especially, the imminent kiss-off "Some Sweet Day," where Linkous grouses, "I was the one who loved you most/ But you can't put your arms around a ghost." A parting shot that's meant to linger—much like the 53 minutes that are Mark Linkous' latest comeback. --Scott Holter

Customer Reviews

Another Great Album - Don't Knock It
This CD seems to have met with a more lukewarm reception than its predecessors which surprises me.

Taken in isolation, this is great Americana/indie music. Linkous is a genuine craftsman of varying musical styles, from acoustic to riffing guitars, but all of his songs share a real warmth and a delightfully skewed lyrical vision. Had this been the debut CD from 'hot' new band I suspect the critics would be falling over themselves to praise it.

If you enjoyed other Sparklehorse CDs I recommend this without hesitation. The only justifiable criticism is that 'Dreamt For Light Years..' does not show any great musical progression; all of the Sparklehorse CDs sound broadly the same, but when he produces songwriting of this quality it seems irrelevant to object. I would be happy with more of the same in 5 years's time!

Viva the Horse
Another beautiful album from Mr Linkous and co. I reckon it's more in keeping with Good Morning Spider and VivaDixie... than Wonderful Life as there's the usual downbeat quiet (but lovely) miserableness mixed with some rocking numbers.

Comparisons to Flaming Lips are spurious as the two sound so dissimilar. If you like Grandaddy and the Eels you're bound to like this...

If it isn't broke, and all of your best friends are hip musicians, don't fix it?
The new songs are melodic but unlikely to linger in your memory for too long. The best songs on this 'new' record are five years old, which says something about the comfort zone Linkous uses talents like Stephen Drozd, Dangermouse, and Dave Fridmann to reinforce for himself. 'Morning Hollow' was a (not so) secret track on 2001's 'It's A Wonderful Life', and the elegiac instrumental 'Dreamt in the Belly of a Mountain for Light Years' used to be known as 'Maxine', and was a b-side to 2001's single 'Gold Day'.

If you are new to the joys that can be found in Linkous's world of bees, horses, mountains, and ghosts then perhaps this is a pleasant entry-level purchase -- but if you care about owning records that enrich your life, buy 'It's A Wonderful Life' or the stunning 'Good Morning Spider' instead. The precious craft is there but so are the songs, and they are lacking on this fourth outing. Here's to the next Sparklehorse record, which won't sound so contractual (fingers crossed).