Sparklehorse might not have been the most popular name, even to fans of indie rock, but a tribute album to the group and Mark Linkous (more or less the band's curator) will feature quite a few gig names.
Last Box of Sparklers will feature contributions from The Flaming Lips, Mark Lanegan (of the Screaming Trees and others), Mercury Rev, for starters. Box of Stars, the organization planning the release, says that The Joy Formidable and Portugal. the Man are among several performers that are still waiting to record, but will also appear on the album. Dinosaur Jr. was featured on an initial trailer released for the project, but the compilation's website doesn't feature the band anymore, unfortunately.
Box of Stars is a non-profit that works to promote awareness for mental health issues. Linkous committed suicide in 2010. The artist had struggled with depression throughout his life, including an overdose on antidepressants in 1995 where he was dead for nearly two minutes, which left him with permanent limb damage. The company has set up an account on crowd-source funding website Indiegogo to fund the recording and promotion of there album. The company is aiming for $50,000, but it has only reached $15,000 so far. A deadline is set for November 22, although there's no word what will happen if the goal isn't reached. Box of Stars is planning a mp3, CD, and vinyl version of the record.
You can check out Mark Lanegan's cover of Sparklehorse's "Spirit Ditch" and other tracks from the album at Pitchfork.
