Handsome Family
The re-issues of The Handsome Family’s first two records will go ahead as planned on the 20th March, with ‘Odessa’ & ‘Milk And Scissors’ being made available on vinyl for the first time. Please consider supporting the band in purchasing copies at https://www.loosemusic.com
To coincide with the re-release of their initial two albums, Odessa and Milk and Scissors, The Handsome Family will be touring in 2020 and playing a selection of songs from both albums. This will be the first time these records have been released in Europe. About the making of their first records, Brett says, “I tried to form a band when we first moved to Chicago in 1992. After rehearsing with a string of mullet-headed yacht-rockers, I gave up and decided to make a band with my wife Rennie playing bass and my friend Mike Werner on drums.”
During a 30-year career, Brett and Rennie Sparks have created songs that transform the mundane landscape of modern life into a place of mysterious portent. The Handsome Family songs take place in parking lots and big box stores, under overpasses and in airports. Many great songwriters have covered their work, among them Jeff Tweedy, Jason Lytle, and Andrew Bird as well Christy Moore.
Handsome Family shows are famously relaxed. Their songs can be dark, but there’s always laughter on stage. Rennie sings as well as plays autoharp, banjo, and uke bass. She often introduces songs with seemingly unrelated stories. Brett, with his stentorian voice, is a powerful presence at centre of the stage. There are a lot of new faces at shows these days, lured by ‘Far From Any Road’, which became a global hit after it was used as the theme to season one of True Detective.
For Handsome Family fans – new and old – these records are a must. Odessa reveals the early style of the band and Milk & Scissors illustrates how their songwriting transformed after Rennie began writing lyrics. On their spring 2020 tour they plan to play selected gems from these treasured records.
