The project of Mark Linkous, Sparklehorse's noisy rock, pastoral folk, psychedelic pop, and gently devastating ballads were always grounded in empathy. 1995's Vivadixiesubmarinetransmissionplot introduced the singer/songwriter's gift for tapping into timeless folk and country traditions and updating them with heady sounds made with vintage equipment saved from the trash heap. The album also introduced the tug-of-war between hope, wonder, weariness, and despair that Linkous explored later. On 1998's Good Morning Spider, his songs tipped toward darkness; on 2001's It's a Wonderful Life, they leaned into gratitude. Sparklehorse's unconventional confessions made fans out of artists including Radiohead, the Flaming Lips, PJ Harvey, Tom Waits, David Lynch, and Fennesz, many of whom worked on projects like 2010's Dark Night of the Soul, which appeared just months after Linkous' death. More than a decade later, 2023's posthumously completed Bird Machine let fans discover more of Sparklehorse's beautifully strange and moving songs.