The latest installment in NPR's Exclusive First Listen series, where they offer streaming versions of albums before they're released, is the mysterious new collaboration between Danger Mouse and Sparklehorse's Mark Linkous. Until very recently, most of us didn't know much about Dark Night of the Soul besides its ominous title. But now we know the album includes contributions from the likes of Frank Black, Iggy Pop, the Flaming Lips and the Shins' James Mercer. Danger Mouse and Linkous apparently wrote and recorded the material, with plenty of help from all those guest musicians, to be packaged with a book of photography by oddball director David Lynch.

Or at least that was the plan. But now there's word from an unnamed representative from the Danger Mouse camp that the music may never be officially released. The source chalks this possibility up to "an ongoing dispute with EMI." So perhaps NPR should use Dark Night of the Soul to roll out a new series called Exclusive Only Listen. But whether the album sees the official light of day or not, get over to NPR and listen to it while you can, because this is great stuff. It's got Linkous's moody sway meshing perfectly with Danger Mouse's great flourishes, and the many contributions from the albums litany of guests are almost all fantastic.

The Dark Night of the Soul book is available here. You know, without the tunes. [Pitchfork]