A Dark Night of the Soul: Danger abounds!

I’ve been listening to A Dark Night of the Soul, the latest Danger Mouse album, for the past week and a half. The ‘danger’ has been heightened with the addition of collaborators: Sparklehorse and many singers. The album has been mired in legal controversy (probably stemming from the appearance of many singers under contractual obligations) and will probably never be officially released. While being inaccessible through commercial channels, it is quite accessible in terms of the music.

For me, Danger Mouse albums are each their own acquired taste. Just like it takes many spins to produce cotton candy, it’s taken me many spins to get an appreciation for the album. The different guest singers on the songs push out across a wide variety of styles. Danger Mouse and Sparklehorse bend over backwards to produce sonic structures to support each singer. Unfortunately, the overall cohesion of the album suffers from this. It sounds like an awesome fresh mix tape rather than a traditional album. There are exceptions to this, one of them the surprising title track featuring David Lynch on vocals. Laying a foundation for the monotone, and dreamy lyrics sung by Lynch, the artists seem free to elevate the track to the full potential of such an unlikely and intriguing collaboration.

Even though the album (download it here) will probably never come out in the traditional sense, the accompanying book of photographs by Lynch was indeed released. I just ordered a copy and will comment on it when its received.

I’m excited by the varied output coming from the Lynch camp these days. The release of the Interview Project a few days ago, and this album a few months ago has created a confluence of events that we are very excited to be involved in.