No Depression reviews The Handsome Family's new album, Hollow (out 9/8), noting, "As the planet protests its mistreatment with increasing intensity, Hollow is a witty yet sobering reminder that humanity is only part of the bigger picture."

No Depression reviews The Handsome Family’s new album, Hollow (out 9/8), noting, “As the planet protests its mistreatment with increasing intensity, Hollow is a witty yet sobering reminder that humanity is only part of the bigger picture.”

From Sonny and Cher to George and Tammy to Ike and Tina, husband-and-wife teams have made all sorts of remarkable music over the years. Add to this distinguished list Albuquerque’s Handsome Family, the handiwork of spouses Brett and Rennie Sparks, who’ve practiced their wonderfully bent take on Americana for three decades. The marvelous Hollow, the couple’s 11th studio album and first in seven years, reaffirms their mastery of what Brett describes as “Western gothic,” drawing on traditional forms and highlighting the intractable strangeness of the natural world — at least when it’s viewed from a “civilized” perspective. Depending on your mood, the songs can be darkly funny or profoundly unsettling, or, more likely, both at once.

READ MORE

From Sonny and Cher to George and Tammy to Ike and Tina, husband-and-wife teams have made all sorts of remarkable music over the years. Add to this distinguished list Albuquerque’s Handsome Family, the handiwork of spouses Brett and Rennie Sparks, who’ve practiced their wonderfully bent take on Americana for three decades. The marvelous Hollow, the couple’s 11th studio album and first in seven years, reaffirms their mastery of what Brett describes as “Western gothic,” drawing on traditional forms and highlighting the intractable strangeness of the natural world — at least when it’s viewed from a “civilized” perspective. Depending on your mood, the songs can be darkly funny or profoundly unsettling, or, more likely, both at once.