The Handsome Family got a boost last year when Phoebe Bridgers turned in a bleak cover of their already wrenching Christmas-adjacent song “So Much Wine.” It was a nice shoutout for the husband-wife duo, yet Brett and Rennie Sparks have been making harrowing music together for 30 years. Their power remains in full effect on their latest, Hollow.
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.
The skeleton crew consists of guitarist-singer-songwriter Greg Brownderville and producer/multi-instrumentalist Spencer Kenney, who named themselves after their multi-media narrative Fire Bones‘ second chapter. Thanks to a consistently mellow pairing of indie rocket science and soundtrack-apt cinematic flourishes, Beekeeper Spaceman’s not only made contact with Leon Bridges, Black Pumas, Shakey Graves, and Erykah Badu…they’ve supported all of the above. Beginning in late June, Beekeeper Spaceman began harvesting their honeycombs and sharing the gooey, acoustic-driven gold on streaming, one single per month, all amassing towards a bustling hive and hyperdrive of an eponymous debut album.
Mega Ran‘s new single “Recess” feat. JER from Skatune Network and Stacked Like Pancakes was added to Spotify editorial playlist Ska Around the Globe alongside Operation Ivy, Sublime, Catbite, Save Ferris, and more!
Hip-hop’s relationship with the video game culture stretches as far back as the Super Mario Bros. TV show rap, which recently made a resurgence for blockbuster-related reasons. It makes loads of sense. They both grew into mainstream prominence during the late 70s/early 80s, were once relegated to simply being fads for the moment and were pushed along by technological innovations. Hip-hop is a pivotal foundation for contemporary pop music globally, while video games are currently the highest-grossing art medium. There isn’t a better example of the two cultures beautifully co-existing in one person than emcee Raheem Jarbo, a.k.a. Mega Ran.
Today we are pleased to premiere rapper, DJ, author, Guinness World Record holder, and new father Megan’s new single “That’s Okay,” a glimpse into what’s probably Ran’s best album yet with Buddy’s Magic Toy Box.
The laid back flow of “That’s Okay” and Mega Ran’s New Orleans jazz-singer chorus is heightened by Kadesh Flow’s trombone. It deals with patience and potentially subconscious microaggressions when it comes to the names of some people of color and folks with tough to pronounce names. PoC will understand this most, and people who haven’t experienced it can learn to empathize with it.
New album Buddy’s Magic Toy Box is out on September 15th.