More than 10 years after the death by suicide of Sparklehorse leader Mark Linkous, ANTI- Records has revealed a previously unreleased song from the artist, “It Will Never Stop.” Since Linkous’ passing, precious little material has been officially made available from his estate, which is overseen by his brother Matt.
“Great care has been taken to archive and preserve Mark’s music,” Matt says. “We are very thankful for Mark and the beauty he brought to this world.” The new song features Mark Linkous on vocals, guitar, bass, keyboards, and drums, with additional guitar work from Alan Weatherhead. It was recorded at Linkous’ studio Static King, which he first set up in Virginia and later moved to North Carolina.
By the time Linkous’ fans first heard of him, he was in his mid-30s and had already started over. The Virginia native had moved to New York and then Los Angeles in the ‘80s, releasing two albums with the Dancing Hoods. He enjoyed a little success on the nascent alternative rock circuit, opening for Camper Van Beethoven and receiving airplay on college radio and MTV’s 120 Minutes. After Dancing Hoods broke up, Linkous returned to Richmond, Va., eventually settling on the Sparklehorse moniker and releasing the project’s major-label debut, 1995’s Vivadixiesubmarinetransmissionplot.
After four albums, Sparklehorse was on the verge of releasing a star-studded album/photobook collaboration with Danger Mouse and David Lynch, Dark Night of the Soul, when Linkous committed suicide on March 6, 2010, in Knoxville, Tenn.
