Five years later, Danger Mouse is one of the most sought after collaborators in music, thanks largely to his success as the music-making half of electro-soul outfit Gnarls Barkley. He's taken a break from that band to work with Mark Linkous, the man behind hazy indie rock act Sparklehorse. As if this teaming weren't alluring enough, filmmaker David Lynch also lent a hand to the project, contributing photos to an accompanying book and even singing on two tracks. Together with a stellar team of guest vocalists, this unlikely trio has concocted Dark Night of the Soul, named for a half-millennium-old treatise on the psychic crisis that can arise from spiritual doubt.

This should be one of the major releases of the year, but the album has been stalled by Danger's nemesis, EMI. For legal reasons, a Lynchian fog of mystery hangs over the album's uncertain future, with all parties remaining mum on the subject. For now, if you want the album, you can purchase the book from its official website. It comes with a CD-R labeled "use it as you will." If this sounds like an invitation to engage in the "piracy" of MP3s, well, so be it. You certainly don't want to miss out on experiencing this excellent album, just because a bunch of corporate suits are scrounging around for billable hours.

After all, Dark Night of the Soul really should be best known for its music, a collection of 13 cuts that are both dreary and surprisingly catchy. Leading off at the top of the batting order of cool contributors are The Flaming Lips, with "Revenge." Their tripped-out future pop meshes seamlessly with Danger's aesthetic, adding a splash of soulfulness to the Lips' psychedelia and Linkous's free-floating ennui. As a perfect complement from across the pond, Super Furry Animals' Gruff Rhys follows with "Just War," a song that is somehow sad and fizzy all at once. Completing a stylistic trio of skewed popsters is former Grandaddy singer Jason Lytle and "Jaykub."

Strokes frontman Julian Casablancas turns out his best vocal performance ever on the bewitching "Little Girl," a simmering retro-'60s tune that's equal parts the Zombies and The Doors. The album takes a turn toward the grungy on "Angel's Harp," a raw and guitar-driven track featuring gnarled barking by Black Francis (apparently channeling his Pixies persona). Iggy Pop maintains the rock mode, eschewing his new fondness for French pop and embracing his inner Idiot with a Lust for Life.

David Lynch then drops in his first vocal take on the twinkling and ethereal "Star Eyes (I Can't Catch It)." He displayed his musical affinity ages ago by writing lyrics for Twin Peaks singer Julee Cruise, and now he proves that he's a capable singer, too. His effects-ridden turn on the creepy title track tat closes the record is particularly evocative. Between Lynch's performances, the second half of Dark Night of the Soul is nearly as strong as its first. Lytle takes the mike once more on "Everytime I'm with You"; Shins's singer James Mercer sings on the accurately titled "Insane Lullaby"; project co-founder Linkous duets with honey-throated Cardigans chanteuse Nina Persson on the ironically sunny "Daddy's Gone"; Suzanne Vega returns to drifty trip-pop with "The Man Who Played God"; and cranky crooner Vic Chesnutt's "Grim Augury" is a typically moody and lyrically vivid slice of Southern hyper-realism ("Catfish were wriggling in blood and gore / In the kitchen sink").

As anyone who's even glanced at this lineup has seen, the players on Dark Night of the Soul are the dream team of alt-pop. Happily, the album is at least equal to the sum of its splendid parts. The diversity of all of these great talents could have led to a scattered affair, but Danger Mouse and Mark Linkous directed their cast well, crafting one of the year's most intriguing albums. David Lynch must be proud.

Recommended Tracks: "Little Girl," "Pain," "Revenge."

-Michael Keefe