Sparklehorse: It's a Wonderful Life

By RUSSELL BAILLIE

(Herald rating: * * * * * )

Undoubtedly, no animals were harmed in the making of this but there's more than a bit of barnyard about the third quietly wondrous Sparklehorse album.

There's always been something charmingly backwoods and Southern about the previous efforts by rural Virginia-based Mark Linkous, who uses Sparklehorse as his nom du singer-songwriter.

Here, the natural history fair seeps into the grooves right from the title track, which is first up. Its lyrics run to one horse, one rooster, one dog, and sundry poison frogs all delivered in the sort of tune that even Jimmy Stewart could whistle.

And so it follows on Gold Day (skinny wolves), Apple Bed (bees), King of Nails (another dead chook, snakes), More Yellow Birds (yes, and more snakes too) and Little Fat Baby (a donkey). Of course, the album also features one junkyard mongrel named Tom Waits, who howls through Dog Door, and a couple of chicks - P J Harvey and the Cardigans' Nina Persson - who add beguiling harmonies to Linkous' lilting tunes, many of which echo Neil Young at his mellowest.

No, Sparklehorse sure doesn't gallop much, but occasionally lurches into hearty country-ish pop rockers, like the hard-strummed Piano Fire and King of Nails. Wonderful Life's combination of slow-slow-quick, the strange, rustic atmosphere it evokes and gorgeously unhurried tunes makes it captivating.

For someone who nearly bought the farm a few years back via some bad drug experiences, here Linkous sounds like the farm has given him some fresh if askew inspiration - and yet another terrific album.

Label: Capitol