I never thought I'd say this about any band with the slightest modicum of talent, but someone at Capitol oughta hire a real producer for Sparklehorse. Primary member Mark Linkous has shown that he can write catchy, American Gothic-tinged pop songs in the vein of Cracker or the Gin Blossoms (but more nicely twisted), and with major-label backing, you'd think he'd have a great chance at commercial success. But Linkous insists on lo-fi self-production that seems to purposely cripple his more radio-friendly melodies. Consider Good Morning Spider's "Happy Man," which spends its first two minutes thrashing about in waves of static, eventually drowning completely during the second verse; only after it fades up into its fully produced glory halfway through does the song's monstrous hook finally connect. It's the kind of self-defeating move that music critics love, but that's not the only reason that Sparklehorse has garnered such widespread critical acclaim.

Good Morning Spider follows the Sebadoh-via-Palace-Brothers blueprint of its 1996 predecessor vivadixiesubmarinetransmissionplot, with a few minor improvements: you've got your whisper-soft tunes ("Painbirds," "Saint Mary," "All Night Home") rubbing up against angry fuzzbombs ("Cruel Sun"), with the occasional made-for-radio hit ("Sick of Goodbyes") thrown in for good measure. At first, the fragmentary melodies and seemingly half-finished songs are vaguely frustrating, but after several listens they start coalescing into... well, an actual album. And not your usual single-plus-filler kind of album, but one where the songs contribute to the overall feel. Linkous' voice ties it all together, an odd papery falsetto that falls somewhere between Lou Barlow and Elliott Smith; it sounds right at home rasping its way through Sparklehorse's cover of Daniel Johnston's "Hey, Joe," but gets downright creepy when twisted into the banshee wail that rips through "Pig."

Sparklehorse should be commended for having something few bands ever even try for-- namely, a cohesive musical vision, even if that vision that doesn't seem fully realized yet. Good Morning Spider's cracked-lens view of a decaying heartland rambles and feels a bit thin in places, but still shows a man on the right track.