Danger Mouse-EMI DNOTS Dispute Resolved

Long-in-limbo album  Dark Night of the Soul should see release later this year.

By Fred Mills

Whew. That Danger Mouse/Sparklehorse/David Lynch project Dark Night of the Soul sure has had a twisted, tortured trajectory. You'll recall that the all-star studded album - in addition to DM and Mark Linkous, it featured contributions from Flaming Lips , Gruff Rhys , Iggy Pop , Suzanne Vega , Black Francis , Vic Chesnutt , Julian Casablancas , Jason Lytle , Nina Persson , James Mercer and David Lynch  - had been lined up as long ago as a year for a mid-2009 release via Chyrsalis/EMI. At one point, as we reported, it was streaming at the Chrysalis site, and then when that turned out to be problematic it got streamed at NPR Music. Meanwhile, review copies were sent out to journalists.

Then it got blocked in some kind of unspecified beef between Danger Mouse in EMI. As we reported on May 15, the NPR Stream was shut down (a message at NPR read, "The album was initially going to be released with a book of photos by director David Lynch in July. But a dispute with EMI records may delay or kill the project."), leading to this turn of events:

A dispute between EMI and Danger Mouse that for the moment has left the project in limbo. Or at least the musical portion of it. The limited-edition package was to include, obviously, the DM/SH album along with a book containing David Lynch photos. Now, however, the way things stand is that it the book will be accompanied by a blank CDR. According to a spokesperson for Danger Mouse, the package will "come with a blank, recordable CD-R. All copies will be clearly labeled: ‘For Legal Reasons, enclosed CD-R contains no music. Use it as you will.' Due to an ongoing dispute with EMI, Danger Mouse is unable to release the recorded music for Dark Night Of The Soul without fear of being sued by EMI. Danger Mouse remains hugely proud of Dark Night Of The Soul and hopes that people lucky enough to hear the music, by whatever means, are as excited by it as he is."

A lot of media outlets, including BLURT went on and reviewed the record - fairly enthusiastically, at that. But with fans essentially left to pursue underground means of getting the tunes, Dark Night of the Soul, for all intents and purposes, was a lost album.

Lost no longer, however: The BBC is reporting (thanks for the tip, Pitchfork) that EMI and DM have resolved their differences and the record should see the light of day this year. Speaking to the BBC, Danger Mouse (Brian Burton) said, "The problems of last year are last year, so hopefully it will be out soon in June or something like that," he said.

An EMI spokesman said: "We can confirm that EMI are working with Brian Burton AKA Danger Mouse again, and are delighted to be doing so. Further information on releases will follow shortly."

Meanwhile, as you await the official release, the Danger Mouse-James Mercer project Broken Bells hits stores next week. Keep your eyes peeled at BLURT for a look at that album soon.

So... with all that in mind, lets revisit what our reviewer, Aaron Kayce, had to say about the album in his 8-star (out of 10) review last August:

Danger Mouse & Sparklehorse

Dark Night of the Soul

(self-released; www.dnots.com)

Just by reading the credits - Danger Mouse, Sparklehorse, David Lynch, Flaming Lips, Iggy Pop, Frank Black, Julian Casablancas, James Mercer, Suzanne Vega - you know this is either gonna be really cool or a half-baked slapped together mix tape compilations. Pfhhh! Danger Mouse would never let that happen and his production (which is somehow both vintage and futuristic at the same time) is the silver thread that ties this somber beast together.

Although it rarely gets particularly heavy, even with the sympathetic strings, airy static bleeps and swells of orchestral harmony, this is a dark album about lonely people searching for connection. If Wayne Coyne singing about "bringing you fuckers down" or Vic Chesnutt talking about "cutting a baby out" doesn't do you in, David Lynch's creepy ass cinematic delivery surely will. And you have to dig how Danger Mouse makes you feel like you snorted an OxyContin during Jason Lytle's (Grandaddy) powerful performance on "Everytime I'm With You."

Unfortunately, at presstime EMI had blocked the release of the album for undisclosed reasons, leaving fans to seek out the music via underground avenues. Dark night indeed.   

Standout Tracks: "Revenge," "Dark Night of the Soul" AARON KAYCE