Mark Linkous Virtual One-Man Band Behind Sparklehorse

“It is with great sadness that we share the news that our dear friend and family member, Mark Linkous, took his own life," his family announced on his website.

His publicist, Shelby Meade, confirmed that he had used a gun.

Linkous had long struggled with depression and almost died in 1996 in a drug-related incident that briefly left him paralyzed. Subsequently, he had several leg surgeries and wore leg braces to walk.

Sparklehorse's 1996 debut album, “Vivadixiesubmarinetransmissionplot," was particularly popular with the British media, who “fell for the haunting mix of low-fi rural rock, dream-time pop and inward-looking imagery," pop music writer Steve Hochman said in 1999 in The Times.

Produced with the help of David Lowery of the rock band Cracker, the album scored an alternative-radio hit with the single “Someday I Will Treat You Good."

Often compared to Neil Young, Linkous was a guitarist and multi- instrumentalist who worked with a number of vintage instruments and odd noisemakers. He played almost everything on recordings but would perform with a band.