Rating:  -
CDs cost a small fortune these days. Considering that there are a gajillion bands you can give your money to for entertainment, it will not do for an artist to have four decent tracks on a record and make the rest utterly insular and unlistenable. At least The Velvet Underground had great songs all the way through before they decided to tell the listener to get bent. I mean, that's all well and good if you aren't interested in what people think of your art, but from a consumer standpoint, that attitude alone does not make a good record. Especially, especially if you are going to be very depressed and request payment for someone to hear about it. Or worse, relate to it.
Sparklehorse's It's A Wonderful Life treads on very a thin ice of likeability, on the verge of falling through to the bottomless depths of suckitude. Admittedly, it has one great song. "Gold Day" evokes the Beatles during their most psychedelic and moody period, a dead ringer for the type of languid dream state conjured up in "Strawberry Fields Forever". A few other songs make an impression, clustered at the beginning of the album. Take the title track, for example. The irony is almost audible- perhaps that is the substance one hears, literally, bubbling and pulsing through the cracks of this song. Linkous is not a happy camper by a long shot, practically whispering lines like "I'm a bog of poison frogs"..."I'm full of bees who died at sea". I shudder at the thought of 16 year old emo kids cutting on themselves in their room while they listen to this type of misery/moping. It's happening somewhere. Anyway, PJ Harvey and Tom Waits show up to make two other songs on this record worth a listen or three. The rest is either forgettable or annoyingly dissonant. Lord knows Im a sucker for tape loops,backwards tracking and breaking away from traditional song structure for a nifty freakout but when that kind of stuff is the only thing holding a listener's interest, it can either make you go "whoa, that was neat, I just got goosebumps" or "ooh, that's ugly. Even I'm asking myself why I'm listening to this." Guess what happens more often on It's A Wonderful Life".
I'd put your money in better bands, or at least other albums by this artist. Sparklehorse is talented, but inconsistent here.
Rating:  -
3 1/2
Beautiful, depressing slow-core at it's best, slightly jarring and disconnected at worst, "It's a Wonderful Life" captures artist Mark Linkous at his melancholic height, barely escaping the album's minimalistic haunted nature with the few less emotionally heavy rockers on here. While not for everyone who is into their forward momentum mentality, chill out with this alt rock gem when you want a nice shimmering slow ride into loneliness, and it's hopefully subsequent inspirations.
Rating:  -
I recently re-discovered this album after a few years of not hearing it, what I have been missing all this time..
This, Sparklehorse's third album is where things get solid. Good Morning Spider, Mark L's previous album to this was a taster of the good things to come and finally the musical magic starts to flow..
From guests such as PJ Harvey through to Nina Pearson (Cardigans) through to the master Mr Waits, everything song here is crafted with a sense of foreboding and darkness.
Whatever you want to call it, alt country/post indie/americana, this is music that will suit some and not all. However those who are inclined towards powerfully moving music made with purpose and dedication need look no further.
Standout tracks include, more yellow birds, gold day and sea of teeth. Mark L's voice is barely above a whisper throughout most of the album, which gives the impression of listening in to someone private confessions, feeling guilty? You should be.
As oppposed to the some of the tracks of Good Morning Spider which seemed half-formed or works in progress, the production of this album is crystal clear, without sounding sanitised.
The only thing left to say is where is the followup album?!! We are waiting!
Rating: -
It's A Wonderful Life shows the remarkable song-writing skills of Mark Linkous. It is utter genious. If you have never heard of Sparklehorse, start with this album. It exceeds any genre or catagorie, and it would be an insult to try to place it in one. This album will change your perspective and give you a new appreciation for music. With the help of Tom Waits and PJ Harvery, this album is the perfect amount of melody and chaos. Absolutely Beautiful. Do not be without this album.
Rating:  -
I walked into a music store once upon a time and the kid in there was listening to Tom Waits. I was quite impressed because when I go into a music store, 99.9% of the time whatever is being played is total crap. So I decided to start up a conversation with this kid about music, since I figure he had somewhat good taste in music. So we were talking about bands and stuff, and he proceeded to tell me of Sparklehorse, a band I'd never heard of. He bragged them up to no extent, and said that since I like bands like Low and Tom Waits, that I would love Sparklehorse. So, like a dumbass, I went out and bought this album...I tried to like it, I swear...But it's just so wussy and wimpy. I love depressing, droning, down tempo stuff---when it's done right. This makes me want to go beat up some wussy art dork. I wanted to go tell that kid "thanks for making me waste my money on crap" but I didn't want to put forth the effort. Anyways, I guess a lot of people will disagree with my review on here, after all, the buttons on the bottom should read "do you agree with my review", not "was this review helpful". I just can't get into this, it makes me sick. If you were advised this album from links of bands like Low or Spain, you may not like this. Listen before you buy!
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