It's been five years in the making, but the fourth Sparklehorse record -- "Dreamt for Lightyears in the Belly of a Mountain -- is nearly upon us. The disc, produced by Mark Linkous (aka Sparklehorse) at his home studio, was engineered by former Milwaukeean Alan Weatherhead.

Weatherhead, who left Milwaukee in the mid-'90s, played guitar with Sparklehorse for awhile and if memory serves correctly, his bandmate and fellow Brew City-an, Mickey (Miguel Urbiztondo) Rad played some drums on previous Sparklehorse sessions, too.

Urbiztondo is a co-owner, with David Lowery (of Cracker and Camper Van Beethoven), of Sound of Music studios in Virginia, where Weatherhead works as a producer/engineer. Weatherhead and Rodriguez are part of a small contingent of Milwaukee-based musicians who relocated to Richmond, Va., and have remained active on the scene there.

"Dreamt for Lightyears," which comes out on Sept. 26 via Astralwerks Records, was also mixed, in part, at Smart Studios in Madison, further extending the Wisconsin links.

Mellow, simmering and insidious, "Dreamt for Lightyears" is also melodic, dreamy and addictive. The opener, "Don't Take My Sunshine Away," is built on a "Dear Prudence"-like descending chord run and the McCartney bass sound runs like a thread through the dozen tunes.

Things don't really boil over -- and that's OK -- until track seven, the fuzz-laden "Ghost in the Sky." But except for another thumping number in the 10th position, "Dreamt" settles back into a pensive, thoughtful mode.

If you're looking for a rock and roll party record, look elsewhere. But if you want good tunes and an intimate vibe, look no further.

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