Danger Mouse & Sparklehorse
Dark Night Of The Soul

San Juan de la Cruz, founder of the Discalced Carmelites Order and Doctor of the Church, was one of the great representatives of Christian mysticism of the 16th century.

Like many of the great Christian mystics, he was imprisoned, tortured, and persecuted by the very Church to which he dedicated his life. A fate he shares with figures like Eckhart, Margherita Porete, Giordano Bruno, ... The "Noche Oscura" is one of his best-known poems. He himself published a commentary explaining the poem verse by verse. The Dark Night of the Soul tells of the arduous journey the soul must undertake to reach communion with God, that path typical of every mystical doctrine, which consists of detachment from goods, people, loves, and finally from God Himself, to reach Nothingness.

Inspired by the aforementioned work, Danger Mouse and Sparklehorse, two who certainly need no introduction, composed these songs, which they then had various guests sing. Icing on the cake, David Lynch joined the project, taking care of the graphic aspect and even singing a couple of songs, including the splendid-morbid title track.

The genre is noir-tinged pop, with abundant use of electronics, but never overdoing it. Personally, I heard echoes of the Black Heart Procession. Yet it remains quite a unique work.

On the guest list we find: Wayne Coyne of the Flaming Lips on the pop gem "Revenge", Iggy Pop on "Pain", where he plays at imitating Bowie in a punk-hallucinatory version, Vic Chesnutt, Suzanne Vega, Julian Casablancas, and a host of other people I honestly have never heard of. A special mention for Lynch, who in my opinion sings quite well, whether it's a dream pop-style ballad like "Star Eyes (I Can Catch It)" or a hypnotic and alienated jazz like "Dark Night Of The Soul", in my opinion the best of the lot. A track that would not have looked out of place in his INLAND EMPIRE.

In conclusion: albums like this don't come out every day, so listening is highly recommended. You might discover a little gem yourself amidst the sea of trash circulating in music magazines. Four and a half stars.

"Oh Night that has united the Lover with the Beloved, that has transformed the Lover into the Beloved"

_{(San Juan de la Cruz, The Dark Night of the Soul)}