by Steven Werner
Contributing Writer

For those of us who weren't smart or cool enough to be into Sparklehorse during their mid-90's genesis, their Valentine's Day performance at the Showbox acted as a sort of reprieve.

Nearly half of the set (including nearly all of the first half) appear on Sparklehorse main man Mark Linkous' 1995 debut, Vivadixiesubmarinetransmissionplot. Though, in retrospect, this record stands as a significant benchmark of 1990's rock, and what was yet to come, most of us were too busy listening to Seven Mary Three to notice. The bitter taste of this acknowledgement is cumbersome, to say the least.

Decade-old regrets aside, there was much more to be heard as Linkous and company finessed their way through a fifteen song set, spanning more than a decade of great music. The gorgeous Applebed drifted along seamlessly, until a lush, booming outro (featuring drumming thunderous enough to bring the late, great Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham to mind) brought it all home in stark contrast to the recorded version.

Elsewhere, we were treated to a lovely, soulful performance of Don't Take My Sunshine Away, the standout track from last autumn's Dreamt For Light Years In The Belly Of A Mountain.

I am, in fact, hard pressed to find any aspect of this show truly worthy of criticism. The vocals were top-notch, with strong three-part harmonies woven through the concert, and Linkous expertly alternating between clean and distorted voice.

The instrumentation was similarly engaging, with solid drumming, potent minimalist bass, intoxicating keys and synths and, of course, sweeping, dynamic guitars that culminated with a glorious burst of noise during the main set-closing Pig. This explosion was so spontaneous and forceful that I'm hesitant to call it a guitar solo.

For a fellow such as myself, who enjoys a bit of raunch in his rock n roll, it was a sonic revelation.

Now that I think about it, I have a complaint after all: the show wasn't quite long enough. The performance couldn't have gone over an hour and for an emsemble that hadn't been in town for about five years, which was something of a letdown.

Nevertheless, on this night, Linkous proved yet again to be one of the great underrated songwriters of our time, with all due respect to Seven Mary Three.