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Rating: The spirit and most authentic attitude of country music are well preserved in the underground of American music. To find them, one must rummage through the Byrdsian obsession of the Long Ryders, the punk convulsions of the Meat Puppets, the quirks of Giant Sand, the whispers of Cowboy Junkies and the rock surges of Green On Red and Dream Syndicate, passing through the painful neuroses of Violent Femmes and Neil Young.
Here are the seeds of the '90s alternative country bloom that characterized the last years of American music, and Sparklehorse are among the greatest bands of the scene, with this 1995 album with the endless title being their debut and masterpiece, on par with "It's A Wonderful Life" from 2001.
Forget the boots with spurs, but not really, forget the cowboy hair, but not really, forget the desert and the Arizona strip, but not really, forget the rosy Vermillion Cliffs of the old and faded films because in the nineties they regained color thanks to the mix of genres, because on "Vivadixie...", take my word, wild, new, and raw music is played. Mark Linkous, voice and guitar: "I see songs as little planets, they don't have to be in alignment, if they orbit they become boring".
Lo-fi as religion, folk rock as a daily lithium dose, explain certain nostalgically-psychedelic suffered pieces like Homecoming Queen or Cow or Weird Sisters. The peak of this nostalgic-anemic part is Spirit Ditch: spectral strumming and fragile voice, a lazy pace that immediately sticks in your head. What is astonishing are the extravagant arrangements that embellish the classic roots-folk, giving new vital energy to the genre.
The energetic part of the album also undergoes the same eccentric treatment (Pavement weren't the only ones arranging like this at that time), certain energetic peaks of theirs (Tears On Fresh Fruit) really make you jump for their moving shakiness (at times they even resemble The Fall who come from a completely different background), and despite this addictive dirtiness, they manage to sound "straight" (if you know what I mean, listen to Tom Verlaine's guitaring) as opposed to many groups in the scene that used chords to create the Pavement-like modus operandi "waste choruses and riffs which feels very alternative" as a backdrop.
The relentless and the askew intertwine in a spartan way, always tinged with an erratic quality, where sudden parentheses made of harmonic oddities open up. I see something "Neil-Younghian" in their roots spiced with folk and alternative (fragments and disturbed sounds, wonky pop, some acid echoes); and in their way of using rock for emotional purposes (listen to Someday I Will Treat You Good).
It is one of the masterpieces of the '90s because considering the classical American song form (mainly rock) with influences of the "roots sound", thus essentially electric country, but (here's the brilliant and sparkling variation) you can find country-punk outbursts, post rock approaches, and also gospel.
In short, a completely reinvented roots rock; although fundamentally, to my way of seeing this music, Linkous remains a cow-punk, not too distant from Giant Sand of Gelb.
Tracklist Lyrics Samples and Videos
06 Tears on Fresh Fruit (02:07)
just when you've found your way to
the boiler room
they come and dig you out
with picks and shovels and
acetelyne torches
I couldn't do nothing but watch as her tears fell on fresh fruit
behind the boney walls of my skull
there was playing a lullaby
la la la la la la la la la la la, la la la la la
we're just trying to be free
of our bodies
our stomachs full of liquor
all our lungs
full of water
I couldn't do nothing but watch as her tears fell on fresh fruit
behind the boney walls of my skull
there was playing a lullaby
la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la, la
10 Hammering the Cramps (02:49)
hey little dog, can you fly?
hey little dog, can you fly?
hammering the cramps
hammering the cramps
hammering the cramps
hey little car, can you fly?
hey little car, can you fly?
hammering the cramps
hammering the cramps
hammering the cramps
hammering the cramps
hammering the cramps
hammering the cramps
captain howdy's here but
we can't see him
we can't see them
hammering the cramps
hammering the cramps
hammering the cramps
hammering the cramps
hammering the cramps
oh yeah
14 Someday I Will Treat You Good (03:40)
Something going on around here
I could not crawl back if I tried
I couldn't wait around
I couldn't wait another second
Something going on around here
I left my baby on the side of the highway
She just couldn't see things my way
Someday I will treat you good
Someday I will treat you fine
Someday I will treat you good
You know I should
Everything that's made is made to decay
Well I'm shrinking bones in the sun
Won't you tell me why that
The beautiful ones are always crazy
She's whispering like Morticia now
I left my baby on the side of the road
I left her with a heavy load
Someday I will treat you good
Someday I will treat you fine
Someday I will treat you good
You know I should
Something going on around here
I could not crawl back if I tried
I left my baby on the side of highway
She just couldn't see things my way
Someday I will treat you good
Someday I will treat you fine
Someday I will treat you good
You know I should
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Other reviews
By Alternativo91
The album opens with 'Homecoming Queen' which has a beautiful arpeggio, and a whispered voice, dreamy, melancholic to avoid when feeling down.
The most catchy song, however, is undoubtedly Someday I Will Treat You Good played with feedback and dissonances which indicate that the artist was far from making a pop piece.
By zaireeka
The songs are islands of wrenching beauty.
Great sensitivity has its price.
By Loconweed
Many have unjustly overlooked the EP, which can be considered an extension of the first album.
'The Hatchet Song' is a peculiar song in Linkous's discography for its use of piano.
By Angeldust82
"The album is fragile and unstable... born, grow, and die just as they were conceived."
"The closer you get to perfection the more you lose in spontaneity."
