Sparklehorse - Good Morning Spider (Good Morning Spider - Sparklehorse)

Member Name: DavidJay

Product:	Good Morning Spider - Sparklehorse
Date:	14/08/08 (13 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Inventive, inspired and inspiring.

Disadvantages: None.

Good Morning Spider is an astounding, consistently surprising (even after the nth listen), eclectic collection of songs, of noise, of light and dark. It is, depending on where one might choose to begin, a punk rock record, a lonesome alt. country tear-jerker, a staggering lo-fi white noise squall or, simply enough, an all guns blazing Rock N Roll onslaught. What it is not is any way predictable or safe. Neither is it at all forgettable.

Released in 1998, the record toys with many of the same ideas evidenced in the debut Vivadixiesubmarinetransmissionplot - notably the back-and-forth between roaring, punk-rock abandon and gentle, melancholy, pre-dawn still.

What dazzles here as then, in addition to the standard of Mark Linkous' songwriting, is how coherent the set feels, even when lunging from the wildest generic extremes. From bleakest electronica to intimate folk to exhilarating pop-rock, the range of influences on display is dizzying and wholly intoxicating.

Given this diversity, stand-out tracks shift depending on one's mood at the time. Now it's the gorgeous Daniel Johnston cover Hey, Joe. Another time it's the heartbreaking Saint Mary. Perhaps the raging opener Pig hits hardest of a third spin.

Sparklehorse would explore even wilder landscapes in time, and with ten times the pop suss, but this is still amongst the most rewarding, invigorating records one might ever hope to chance upon of a morning.

Summary: A glorious distillation of lo-fi electro, raw americana, punk rock and pop.