At this point the collaboration between Danger Mouse and Sparklehorse has moved far beyond its cryptic primordial buzz. It was a long and secretive road, from the first obscure posters to pop up at SXSW 2010 to the release of a 100 page photo book accompanied by a blank CD and a series of “leaked” copies of the album. The legal battle with EMI and subsequent delay of an official release gave the album even more buzz. Now, more than a year after the album hit the ears of diligent fans, the musical masterpiece that is Dark Night of the Soul is getting a traditional major label release on July 12. Even though the album has been downloaded, burned, and streamed for a year, EMI is sweetening the pot with a limited edition box set including a double heavyweight gate-fold vinyl album, two disk CD with standard album and instrumentals, 12″ book with David Lynch visuals, three lobby cards, a photo and a poster. Plus it’ll be limited to 5,000 copies worldwide. 

Normally I would preach about sticking it to the man and recommend buying the Lynch book with the blank CD, but this album is brilliant and may be worth paying for the luxury suite. It’s not often that you get so many incredible musicians together on one album and when legendary film director David Lynch signs on to lend a hand, you know it’s going to be epic. It’s safe to assume that this album will become one of those prize possessions in many a music elitist collection.

A little recap for the tragically uninformed; Dark Night of the Soul is a collaboration between Danger Mouse and the late, great Sparklehorse. The two musical masterminds brought together some of the most notable names in indie rock to lend their talent and insight to the project including, James Mercer of The Shins, Gruff Rhys of Super Furry Animals, Julian Casablancas of The Strokes, Frank Black, Iggy Pop, The Flaming Lips, and another fallen soldier of the music world, Vic Chesnutt. Director David Lynch contributed a 100+ page book of photos said to be a visual narrative for the music. The album is aptly named. The music is haunting, dark, brooding, and eerily foreboding—given Mark Linkus’ suicide a year after the release. But he could not have left fans with a more beautiful and thoughtful parting gift.

The album is truly a masterpiece with Linkus at the helm. Now I could sit here and describe the album with a multitude of ambiguous adjectives, but the music speaks for itself. So take the facts and listen for yourself. A stream of the entire album is still available here:

STREAM: Dark Night of the Soul

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