Welcome back to Record of the Week. We've got a good one this week, Sparklehorse's 1995 debut album, Vivadixiesubmarinetransmissionplot. This 2011 reissue is the one spinning on my turntable today.
My first Sparklehorse was 1999's It's a Wonderful Life. I had heard of them at the time, but hadn't heard the music. I remember reading that PJ Harvey, Nina Persson and Tom Waits were guesting on the upcoming album (It's a Wonderful Life) and I was like holy crap, thee of my faves! That's how I got into the world of Sparklehorse, and I went backwards from there.
Vivadixie pretty much lays out the blueprint for Sparklehorse's catalog. Kinda lo-fi, sad, weird Americana. Mark Linkous had been playing music in LA but became disillusioned with the scene. He pretty much had given up and moved back home to Virginia. He ended up gigging with his brother in the local scene and reinvented his songwriting, citing Tom Waits' Swordfishtrombones, Rain Dogs, and Bone Machine as inspiration and the roadmaps for his new vision. And for that, we are eternally grateful. I never got to see him live, but the four Sparklehorse albums all come out from time to time.
David Lowery (of Cracker, ex Camper Van Beethoven) produced Vivadixie, you can kinda hear similarities between this and Cracker's 1992 self-titled debut album. I think what I really like is the weird instrumentation (a la Tom Waits) and that the songs all feel so sad (even the ones that are musically upbeat like Someday I Will Treat You Good).
The album also feels intimate, almost like you're in the room as the band plays. The production, I think, helps with that. It's not glossy and over-produced. It's got a very raw and sparse sound. Kinda warts and all. If you're interested, this is a fine album for a starting point. Really, you could choose any of them and you'd be good. I got in with the third album, and now I love them all. And if you end up listening to all four album, they're different but they still feel like they're sisters or cousins. Maybe part of a larger Sparklehorse Cinematic Universe, if you will. Give it a shot, I think you'll be rewarded.