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It’s been nearly a quarter century since Daniel Johnston began selling his sweet but decidedly cracked pop songs on cassettes crudely recorded on a cheap boom box. Bouts with mental illness derailed his career but fueled his vision, such as it is. On “Fear Yourself,” he’s aided by Sparklehorse frontman Mark Linkous, who constructed lush, orchestral backing tracks over which Johnston warbles lyrics that are rich, hopeful and completely guileless.




