Pitchfork

Mark Linkous has the flu, mumbles through an awkward exchange with host John Schaefer, and plays nothing from the new album he's ostensibly on-air to promote. Nevertheless, Sparklehorse's appearance on WNYC's "Soundcheck" makes for an engaging 20 minutes of public radio. Linkous and his touring band kick off with "Painbirds", from 1999's Good Morning Spider, with Linkous's voice sounding too pained for the airwaves, and end with a halting version of "Spirit Ditch", from 1995's vivadixiesubmarinetransmissionplot, with Chris Michaels re-creating its murky atmosphere on guitar and Linkous straining valiantly to hit those high notes.

In between Linkous makes two startling revelations: First, he says that Dreamt for Light Years in the Belly of a Mountain was almost titled Fear of Pop, professing no knowledge of the Ben Folds side project, but ultimately, he dismissed it for being too silly. Second, while he was recording the album, a bear trapped Linkous inside his house and kept him from getting to the studio. Too bad the show doesn't do dramatic re-enactments.

Stream: > Sparklehorse: Live on WNYC's "Soundcheck"