Danger Mouse & Sparklehorse - Dark Night Of The Soul

01. Revenge (feat. Wayne Coyne)
02. Just War (feat. Gruff Rhys)
03. Jaykub (feat. Jason Lytle)
04. Little Girl (feat. Julian Casablancas)
05. Angel’s Harp (feat. Black Francis)
06. Pain (feat. Iggy Pop)
07. Star Eyes (I Can Catch It) (feat. James Mercer)
08. Everytime I’m With You (feat. Jason Lytle)
09. Insane Lullaby (feat. James Mercer)
10. Daddy’s Gone (feat. Nina Persson)
11. The Man Who Played God (feat. Nina Persson)
12. Grain Augury (feat. Vic Chesnutt)
13. Dark Night Of The Soul (feat. Vic Chesnutt)

David Lynch, Iggy Pop, Gruff Rhys, members of the Strokes, the Shins, the Flaming Lips and Pixies will contribute to the next album by Danger Mouse and Sparklehorse.

Mark Linkous, the American singer-songwriter who mutters and murmurs as Sparklehorse, was last heard in 2006, on an album produced by Danger Mouse. And though neither Linkous nor Danger Mouse have announced it on their websites, their MySpace pages, in press releases or tweets, they seem to have made something new. And it sounds … well it sounds mysterious.

Earlier this week, several journalists and bloggers received a poster in the mail: “Danger Mouse and Sparklehorse present … DARK NIGHT OF THE SOUL”. And then there’s the word “Featuring” and a whole lot of names.

Take a deep breath: Black Francis aka Pixies’ Frank Black, the Strokes’ Julian Casablancas, Vic Chesnutt, the Flaming Lips, Grandaddy’s Jason Lytle, the Shins’ James Mercer, the Cardigans’ Nina Persson, Iggy Pop, Super Furry Animals’ Gruff Rhys, and Suzanne Vega.

Oh yes, and “Visuals by David Lynch”.

The poster promises an album in summer 2009 and that’s all we know; a mystery wrapped in an enigma wrapped in an international advertising campaign.

Certainly both Sparklehorse and Danger Mouse are well connected. On 2006’s Dreamt for Light Years in the Belly of a Mountain, there were contributions from both Tom Waits and the Flaming Lips’ Steven Drozd. And since breaking through with The Grey Album, Danger Mouse has worked with everyone from Beck to Gnarls Barkley and Gorillaz.

Of course, it’s one thing to have Julian Casablancas drawl a few lyrics, and another to have one of the world’s eeriest film auteurs collaborate with visuals. David Lynch has rarely worked with any musicians besides composer Angelo Badalamenti, and although it’s still unclear what he’s done for Danger Mouse and Sparklehorse, from designing album artwork to shooting a film, he’s not exactly known for gallivanting with indie mumblers.

Then again, perhaps Dark Night of the Soul isn’t just an album. Perhaps it’s a hotel on a mysterious road that only appears on Friday the 13th, with a casino room where your subconscious mind plays roulette against Iggy Pop and members of the Shins and .. well all right, it’s probably just an album.