In my rarefied musical universe few bands enjoy such exalted status as Sparklehorse. And few artists deserve the accolade ‘genius’ more than Mark Linkous.

Never more than a cult in their time (1995-2010), they were always firmly in the ‘cult’ category. That cultishness only increased after the death in 2010 of Linkous, who essentially was​ Sparklehorse.

I became a fan of their spooky lo-fi world – and they really did create a musical world that was all their own – with the release in 1995 of their splendidly titled debut album vivadixiesubmarinetransmissionplot.

I was also lucky to see them live on a couple of occasions, once in some very odd long-gone club in (I think) Regent Street that was – aptly enough – like something from a David Lynch film.

This is the first song from what would have been Mark’s final album, Bird Machine, which has been posthumously completed by his brother Matt and sister in law Melissa, and is now to be released finally this autumn.

I’m normally apprehensive about people meddling with unfinished work by dead artists but I have heard the whole album and on this occasion I feel they have done him – and themselves – justice.