Sparklehorse, essentially the brainchild of Mark Linkous, is a
spooky,
lo-fi and distinctly
dream-folk band of misfits. After working as a
house painter and as a
chimneysweep (no kidding!) he sent a demo to Capitol Records and got signed, scoring a radio hit with "Someday I'll Treat You Good" off the album
Vivadixiesubmarinetransmissionplot (whew!). He then mixed
Valium and some prescriptions, and lay comatose in a hotel bathroom with his legs pinned under his body, almost
crippling himself. Little has been heard from him after his album
Good Morning, Spider, except for a 2000 released EP of old things, called
Distorted Ghost. Well, strike that. They've released a new album called
It's A Wonderful Life, almost certainly named after the movie.