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Bird Machine
Rock · 2023

Bird Machine

Sparklehorse

A posthumous collection of tape-saturated indie rock and fragile folk. Distorted transmissions from a lost world, blending mechanical fuzz with organic beauty.

September 8, 2023 · Anti-

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Bird Machine feels like a ghost story told with a smile, a final transmission from Mark Linkous that was nearly lost to time. It carries the signature Sparklehorse duality: the 'Machine' represented by distorted guitars and tape hiss, and the 'Bird' found in the fragile, soaring melodies and nature-obsessed lyrics. There is a profound sense of warmth here, as if the analog tapes themselves were holding onto the heat of the original 2009 recording sessions. It is music that sounds like it was found in a wooden box buried under a tree, slightly weathered but all the more precious for its scars.

Moments Worth Listening For
The transition from the buzzing feedback into the upbeat, driving rhythm of It Will Never Stop.
The fragile, almost-breaking vocal delivery on Evening Star Supercharger that feels like a final transmission.
The way the field recordings of birds weave into the melody of The Scullion's Staircase, blurring nature and music.
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AllMusic
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Where This Album DepartsEach spoke is a trait. The orange shape shows where this album pulls away from — or holds to — the rest of the artist’s catalogue. Tap for more.

How does Bird Machine sound next to the rest of Sparklehorse's catalogue?

Nature+1.2σ

The writing leans notably further into nature than the rest of the catalogue.

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