It has been too long, really, we ought to be annoyed. The album ‘Hollow‘ is the first release by The Handsome Family since 2016’s ‘Unseen‘, and that’s a long time to not have any new glimpses into the parallel world of strange gothic Americana that Brett and Rennie Sparks inhabit. Yet within seconds of the start of ‘Joseph‘ all is forgiving, this is The Handsome Family at their unsettling greatness – it’s hard to say exactly what is going on here but it could involve Dark Gods on forgotten eldritch hilltops. Or…maybe not.
How does such a song com to be? Well, Brett explains that in this case very easily: “It was a bleak winter during the middle of the pandemic. One night around 4 a.m. Rennie started screaming in her sleep. She screamed, ‘Come into the circle Joseph! There’s no moon tonight.’ Scary as it was, I thought, man, that’s a good chorus!” The rest is musical magic, dark magic no doubt, but magic nonetheless.
‘Hollow‘ will be released on the 8th of September, not long to wait now.
After a seven year gap The Handsome Family return with a wonderful album which draws the listener into their uniquely dark universe. It’s hard to believe that The Handsome Family, Brett and Rennie Sparks, have been delighting us for 30 years now with their unique and deliciously dark world-view. The…
Tonight The Handsome Family arrive in town to play to a near capacity crowd at Folkestone’s Quarterhouse. Most it seems, are committed fans of the band although some like me have come along because the venue is on their doorstep and they have been lured by the penning of the…
"For us to have Loose Records here tonight and for us to still be married...” is Rennie Sparks’s wryly improbable reflection towards the beginning of this evening’s performance in Hackney - a nice acknowledgement of the record label who have long supported them but also a sly nod to the…
Sure, I could climb high in a tree, or go to Skye on my holiday. I could be happy. All I really want is the excitement of first hearing The Byrds, the amazement of decades of Dylan's music, or the thrill of seeing a band like The Long Ryders live. That's not much to ask, is it?
