The Handsome Family is an American music duo consisting of husband and wife Brett and Rennie Sparks formed in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, Illinois, and as of 2001 based in

Albuquerque, New Mexico Albuquerque ( ; ), also known as ABQ, Burque, the Duke City, and in the past 'the Q', is the List of municipalities in New Mexico, most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico, and the county seat of Bernalillo County, New Mexico, Bernal ...

. They are perhaps best known for their song " Far from Any Road" from the album ''

Singing Bones ''Singing Bones'' is the sixth studio album by the Handsome Family. It was released in 2003 by Carrot Top Records (North America) / Loose Music (Europe). It includes a cover of the folk song " Dry Bones", known from Bascom Lamar Lunsford's 192 ...

'', which was used as the main title theme for the first season of the 2014 crime drama ''

True Detective ''True Detective'' is an American Anthology series, anthology Crime fiction, crime Drama (film and television), drama television series created by Nic Pizzolatto for the premium cable network HBO. The series premiered on January 12, 2014, and ...

''. The band's tenth album, '' Unseen'', was released in 2016. The band's 11th studio album '' Hollow'', was released on September 8, 2023.

History

Husband-and-wife duo Brett Sparks (vocals, guitar, keyboards) and Rennie Sparks (bass, banjo, vocals) formed the band in 1993, along with drummer Mike Werner. The band would later revolve around Rennie, who writes the lyrics, and Brett, who writes the music. Guest musicians complete the band line-up for recordings and live work.Strong, Martin C. (2003) "The Handsome Family", in ''The Great Indie Discography'', Canongate, . Regarding the band name, Brett said in an interview: "It's just kind of a stupid name. We used to have this really obnoxious drummer, and he used to call me 'Handsome', that was his nickname for me, I think for sarcastic reasons... And he wanted to call it the Handsome Family... and we thought it was funny, too. We thought it was a good name." Brett is originally from

Odessa ODESSA is an American codename (from the German language, German: ''Organisation der ehemaligen SS-Angehörigen'', meaning: Organization of Former SS Members) coined in 1946 to cover Ratlines (World War II aftermath), Nazi underground escape-pl ...

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

and Rennie from

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...

.Layne, Joslyn " The Handsome Family Biography, ''

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

'' The band toured extensively throughout both America and Europe in support of early releases ''

'' (1994) and '' Milk and Scissors'' (1996). During that time, Brett suffered an emotional breakdown, resulting in his hospitalization and diagnosis of

bipolar disorder Bipolar disorder (BD), previously known as manic depression, is a mental disorder characterized by periods of Depression (mood), depression and periods of abnormally elevated Mood (psychology), mood that each last from days to weeks, and in ...

. They wrote their third full-length album, '' Through the Trees'', in the aftermath of these events, and included a song, "My Ghost", inspired by Brett's experiences in the psychiatric unit. They recorded the album in 1998, using

Jeff Tweedy Jeffrey Scot Tweedy (born August 25, 1967) is an American musician, singer songwriter, author, and record producer best known as the lead vocalist and guitarist of the band Wilco. Tweedy, originally from Belleville, Illinois, began his music care ...

's mobile studio, and brought the band to a wider audience. '' Uncut'' named it the "Best New Country Album of the Year". A growing following and raised profile allowed Brett and Rennie to give up their day jobs and work on the band full time. They toured America and Europe again in support of the 2000 album ''

In the Air IN, In or in may refer to: Dans * India (country code IN) * Indiana, United States (postal code IN) * Ingolstadt, Germany (license plate code IN) * In, Russia, a town in the Jewish Autonomous Oblast Businesses and organizations * Independen ...

''. That year, Rennie's book of short stories, ''Evil'', was released by Chicago publisher Black Hole Press. In 2001, they moved to

Albuquerque Albuquerque ( ; ), also known as ABQ, Burque, the Duke City, and in the past 'the Q', is the List of municipalities in New Mexico, most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico, and the county seat of Bernalillo County, New Mexico, Bernal ...

, New Mexico, and released ''

Twilight Twilight is daylight illumination produced by diffuse sky radiation when the Sun is below the horizon as sunlight from the upper atmosphere is scattered in a way that illuminates both the Earth's lower atmosphere and also the Earth's surf ...

'', with Allmusic opining that the album leads "the listener down a lovely yet dark trail few would dare tread twice". In 2002, they released a live album, '' Live at Schuba's Tavern'', a recording from the ''In the Air'' tour from Chicago in December 2000. The duo appeared in the 2003 documentary '' Searching for the Wrong-Eyed Jesus'', as well as the soundtrack album released two years later. They have subsequently released the albums ''

'' (2003), '' Last Days of Wonder'' (2006), '' Honey Moon'' (2009), ''

Wilderness Wilderness or wildlands (usually in the plurale tantum, plural) are Earth, Earth's natural environments that have not been significantly modified by human impact on the environment, human activity, or any urbanization, nonurbanized land not u ...

'' (2013), and '' Unseen'' (2016) as well as the collections '' Smothered and Covered'' (2003) and ''Scattered'' (2010). Their latest album, '' Hollow'', was released in September 2023. The track "Far from Any Road", from the album ''

'', was used as the main title theme song for HBO's 2014 crime drama ''

'' by the show's music director,

T Bone Burnett Joseph Henry "T Bone" Burnett III (born January 14, 1948) is an American record producer, guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He was a guitarist in Bob Dylan's band during the 1970s. Burnett has won several Grammy Awards for his work on film sou ...

. ''

The Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper published in Sydney, Australia, and owned by Nine Entertainment. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuous ...

'' included season one's opening sequence in their list of the "Ten of the Best" title sequences on television. The song later appeared in an episode of ''

The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening and developed by Groening, James L. Brooks and Sam Simon for the Fox Broadcasting Company. It is a Satire (film and television), satirical depiction of American life ...

'', and was used as intro music during

Guns N' Roses Guns N' Roses is an American hard rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1985 as a merger of local bands L.A. Guns and Hollywood Rose. When they signed to Geffen Records in 1986, the band's "classic" line-up consisted of vocalist Axl R ...

' 2014 tour. The band's tenth album, '' Unseen'', was released on September 16, 2016, the first new release on the band's own label Milk & Scissors Music and through long-time label

Loose Loose may refer to: Places * Loose, Germany * Loose, Kent, a parish and village in southeast England People * Loose (surname) Arts, entertainment, and media Music Albums * ''Loose'' (B'z album), a 1995 album by B'z * ''Loose'' (Crazy Horse album ...

in Europe. In a departure from recent prior albums, the main duo of Brett and Rennie Sparks were joined by three guest musicians: David Gutierrez (mandolin and dobro), Alex McMahon (guitar, baritone guitar, pedal steel), and Jason Toth (drums). The band's 11th studio album '' Hollow'', was released on September 8, 2023. The songs were written during the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. The chorus of the album's lead single, "Joseph", was inspired by a nightmare of lyricist Rennie Sparks, who began talking in her sleep one night, shouting, "Come into the circle, Joseph. There’s no moon tonight!" Brett wrote the words down, and the duo fleshed out the song the next day.

Musical style

The Handsome Family's music has been classified as

gothic country Gothic country (sometimes referred to as gothic Americana, Southern Gothic, the Denver sound, or dark country) is a genre of country music rooted in early jazz, gospel, Americana, gothic rock, and post-punk. Its lyrics focus on dark subject ma ...

or gothic

Americana Americana may refer to: *Americana music, a genre or style of American music * Americana (culture), artifacts of the culture of the United States Film, radio and television * ''Americana'' (1981 film), an American drama film * ''Americana'' (20 ...

alternative country Alternative country (commonly abbreviated to alt-country; also known as alternative country rock, insurgent country, Americana, or y'allternative) is a loosely defined subgenre of country music and/or country rock that includes acts that diffe ...

, avant-country,

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...

country blues Country blues (also folk blues, rural blues, backwoods blues, or downhome blues) is one of the earliest forms of blues music. The mainly solo vocal with acoustic fingerstyle guitar accompaniment developed in the rural Southern United States in t ...

country rock Country rock is a music genre that fuses rock and country. It was developed by rock musicians who began to record country-flavored records in the late 1960s and early 1970s. These musicians recorded rock records using country themes, vocal sty ...

, gothic folk,

roots rock Roots rock is a genre of rock music that looks back to rock's origins in contemporary folk music, folk, blues, and country music. First emerging in the late 1960s, it is seen as a response to the perceived excesses of the then dominant psychedel ...

and traditional country. The Handsome Family's style is a blend of

, bluegrass, and

murder ballad Murder ballads are a subgenre of the traditional ballad form dealing with a crime or a gruesome death. Their lyrics form a narrative describing the events of a murder, often including the lead-up and/or aftermath. The term refers to the conten ...

s. Early recordings have

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

elements, but these were less evident from 1996's ''Milk and Scissors'' onwards. The duo's penchant for a tongue-in-cheek, macabre approach has been noted by many critics; Andy Fyfe of ''

Mojo Mojo may refer to: * Mojo (African-American culture), a magical charm bag used in Hoodoo Arts, entertainment and media Film and television * ''Mojo'' (2017 film), a 2017 Indian Kannada drama film written and directed by Sreesha Belakvaadi * '' ...

'' called them "Americana's ghostly

Sonny & Cher Sonny & Cher were an American pop and entertainment duo in the 1960s and 1970s, made up of spouses Sonny Bono and Cher. The couple started their career in the mid-1960s as rhythm and blues, R&B backing singers for record producer Phil Spector. ...

." A.V. Club reviewer Christopher Bahn compared their music to "a collaboration between

Hank Williams Hiram "Hank" Williams (September 17, 1923 – January 1, 1953) was an American singer, songwriter, and musician. An early pioneer of country music, he is regarded as one of the most significant and influential musicians of the 20th century. W ...

and

Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allan Poe (; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic who is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales involving mystery and the macabre. He is widely re ...

." Rennie's lyrics have a strong

storytelling Storytelling is the social and cultural activity of sharing narrative, stories, sometimes with improvisation, theatre, theatrics or embellishment. Every culture has its own narratives, which are shared as a means of entertainment, education, cul ...

component, drawing on themes from

Gothic fiction Gothic fiction, sometimes referred to as Gothic horror (primarily in the 20th century), is a literary aesthetic of fear and haunting. The name of the genre is derived from the Renaissance era use of the word "gothic", as a pejorative to mean me ...

, as well as

American folk music The term American folk music encompasses numerous music genres, variously known as ''traditional music'', ''traditional folk music'', ''contemporary folk music'', ''vernacular music,'' or ''roots music''. Many traditional songs have been sung ...

, and often involving macabre subjects as murders, suicides and ghosts. Some songs are also based on actual historical figures or events, including the lives and deaths of

Amelia Earhart Amelia Mary Earhart ( ; July 24, 1897 – January 5, 1939) was an American aviation pioneer. On July 2, 1937, she disappeared over the Pacific Ocean while attempting to become the first female pilot to circumnavigate the world. During her li ...

("Amelia Earhart vs. the Dancing Bear", on '' Milk and Scissors''), Emily Shore ("Emily Shore 1819–1839", on ''Milk and Scissors''),

Robert Wadlow Robert Pershing Wadlow (February 22, 1918 July 15, 1940), also known as the Alton Giant and the Giant of Illinois, was an American man. He is the list of tallest people, tallest person in recorded history for whom there is irrefutable evidence. ...

("The Giant of Illinois", on '' Through the Trees''),

Natalie Wood Natalie Wood (née Zacharenko; July 20, 1938 – November 29, 1981) was an American actress. She began acting at age four and co-starred at age eight in ''Miracle on 34th Street'' (1947). As a teenager, she was nominated for an Academy Award f ...

("Natalie Wood", an

outtake An outtake is a portion of a work (usually a film or music recording) that is removed in the editing process and not included in the work's final, publicly released version. In the digital era, significant outtakes have been appended to CD and D ...

from ''

'', which appears on '' Smothered and Covered''), and

Nikola Tesla Nikola Tesla (;"Tesla"
. ''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. ; 10 July 1856 – 7 ...

("Tesla's Hotel Room", on '' Last Days of Wonder''). The title of ''Last Days of Wonder'' is a reference to

Puritan The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to rid the Church of England of what they considered to be Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should b ...

scientist and witch-hunter

Cotton Mather Cotton Mather (; February 12, 1663 – February 13, 1728) was a Puritan clergyman and author in colonial New England, who wrote extensively on theological, historical, and scientific subjects. After being educated at Harvard College, he join ...

's 1693 book ''

Wonders of the Invisible World ''The Wonders of the Invisible World'' was a book written by Cotton Mather and published in 1693. It was subtitled, ''Observations As well Historical as Theological, upon the Nature, the Number, and the Operations of the Devils''. The book defend ...

'', which Rennie found intriguing because of what she called its "madness brimming under the surface of things."

Covers

The Handsome Family's songs have been covered repeatedly by musician

Andrew Bird Andrew Wegman Bird (born July 11, 1973) is an American indie rock multi-instrumentalist, singer, and songwriter. Since 1996, he has released 16 studio albums, as well as several live albums and EPs, spanning various genres including swing musi ...

, including a full-length album of covers released in 2014, '' Things Are Really Great Here, Sort Of…''

Wilco Wilco is an American Rock music, rock band based in Chicago. The band was formed in 1994 by the remaining members of alternative country group Uncle Tupelo after singer Jay Farrar's departure. Wilco's lineup changed frequently during its fir ...

’s Jeff Tweedy regularly performs "So Much Wine" in concert.

Sally Timms Sally Ann Timms (born 29 November 1959) is an English singer and songwriter. Born in Leeds, England, she now lives in the Chicago area, where she works as a paralegal.Lipez, Zachary.Mekons Finally Get Their Revenge: An Interview with Sally Timm ...

the Mekons The Mekons are a British Post-punk band formed in 1976 as an art collective. They are one of the longest-running and most prolific of the first-wave British punk rock bands. The band's style has evolved over time to incorporate aspects of co ...

covered three Handsome Family songs—"The Sad Milkman", "Snowbird", and "Drunk By Noon"—on her 1999 album '' Cowboy Sally's Twilight Laments for Lost Buckaroos''. In 2022, Bird also contributed to

Phoebe Bridgers Phoebe Lucille Bridgers (born August 17, 1994) is an American singer-songwriter. Her indie folk music typically centers on acoustic guitar and Electronic music, electronic production, with melancholic lyrical themes. She has won four Grammy Aw ...

's holiday cover of their song "So Much Wine" from ''

'' alongside Irish actor

Paul Mescal Paul Colm Michael Mescal ( ; born 2 February 1996) is an Irish actor. His accolades include two BAFTA Awards, a Laurence Olivier Award, in addition to nominations for an Academy Award and a Primetime Emmy Award. Born in Maynooth, he studied ...

and bandmates Marshall Vore and Harrison Whitford. The proceeds from sales of the cover, as with all of Bridgers's holiday covers, go to the Los Angeles LGBT Center.

Honors and awards

In 2014, Chicago city alderman Robert Fioretti sponsored a resolution declaring September 5, 2014 as "Brett and Rennie Sparks Day" in Chicago "for their exceptional and distinctive talents and noteworthy artistic contributions".

Discography

Albums

*''

'' (1994) Carrot Top / Scout Releases *'' Milk and Scissors'' (1996) Carrot Top / Scout Releases *'' Through the Trees'' (1998) Carrot Top /

*''

'' (2000) Carrot Top / Loose *''

'' (2001) Carrot Top / Loose *''

'' (2003) Carrot Top / Loose *'' Last Days of Wonder'' (2006) Carrot Top / Loose *'' Honey Moon'' (2009) Carrot Top / Loose *''

'' (2013) Carrot Top / Loose *'' Unseen'' (2016) Milk & Scissors Music / Loose *'' Hollow'' (2023) Milk & Scissors Music Compilations and live albums *'' Down in the Valley'' (1999) Independent Records (Ireland-only release) *'' Live at Schuba's icTavern'' (2002) Digital Club Network Schubas'', for the two Schuba brothers.">2424 North Lincoln Avenue#Lincoln Hall">Schubas'', for the two Schuba brothers.*'' Smothered and Covered'' (2002) Handsome Family Music *''Scattered'' (2010) Handsome Family Music * "Tower of Song" - ''Too Late to Pray: Defiant Chicago Roots'' (2019)

Bloodshot Records Bloodshot Records is an independent record label based in Chicago, Illinois, which specializes in alternative country music. History Bloodshot Records was founded in 1994 by Nan Warshaw, Rob Miller, and Eric Babcock, who knew each other from ...

EPs

*'' Invisible Hands'' (1997) Carrot Top Records / Scout Releases (Vinyl-only release) *'' In the Forest of Missing Airplanes'' (2007)

Singles

*"My Beautiful Bride" b/w "Destroy, Destroy" (1999) Magwheel (7" split w/ Sackville) *"Drunk by Noon" b/w "The Blizzard" (2008) Carrot Top Records *" Far from Any Road" (2015)

References

External links

* * * *
2009 The Handsome Family Interview at Bandega.comthe Handsome Family article
May 2009
Glorious Noise: interviewInterviewWTF Pod with Marc Maron podcast episode interview
{{DEFAULTSORT:Handsome Family, The American alternative country groups Gothic country groups Musical groups established in 1993 Musical groups from Chicago Mint Records artists 1993 establishments in Illinois Musical groups from New Mexico Loose Music artists Family musical groups Married couples