The Handsome Family

Thu 7th Jan, 2010 in Features

Described as the “Beatles of gothic folk” by no less a critical authority than Greil Marcus, The Handsome Family have been one of the most fascinating American bands of the past decade, their songs often touching on macabre subject matter, but always leavened by empathy and humanity. The live performances of this married couple are a genuine celebration, showcasing not only Rennie’s masterful storytelling and Brett’s soulful, canyon-deep baritone, but the unexpected humour that runs through their work.

New record Honey Moon is their most hopeful offering in years, the doomed lovers and tragic eccentrics that people previous work largely replaced by hushed and contemplative songs which show a renewed interest in the natural world. Rennie Sparks describes it as “not so much a love song record, but a romantic record” and its new direction has been a pleasant surprise to critics, at least one of whom has wondered if this is the first Handsome Family record without a body-count.

Amongst the highlights on the album is the allegorical The Loneliness of Magnets which Rennie explains was born out of an interest in the largely unexplained phenomena of bird migration. “I’d been reading about how birds figure out where to go and how nobody really knows how birds are navigating, some say it might be to do with magnetic forces and some people think it has to do with gravitational pull…I just love the facts that bird just know where they’re going and all these crazy scientists can’t figure it out”.

On songs like the gentle When You Whispered and The Winding Corn Maze (a self-contained narrative with the feel of a folk tale) there’s something like contentment shining through, but it’s a considered, fleeting kind of happiness which stays faithful to the band’s worldview, which has never seen happiness and sadness as exclusive. It reminds me of a line from a lecture given by Nick Cave: “The love song is never truly happy. It must first embrace the potential for pain”. It’s a sentiment Rennie can relate to. “I think that’s true of life” she says. “Whenever you have a moment of pure happiness, there’s always a little drop of sadness. We live in a world of time and nothing can ever stay the way it is, so every moment of joy is going to be followed by a moment of pain”.

Just as joy and sorrow inevitably overlap in the world of The Handsome Family, Rennie agrees that tragedy and comedy often go hand in hand in their work, noting how many comedians are depressives. “I think laughter is a way of dealing with pain” she muses. “I think people that don’t laugh tend to either be numb or not aware. Every time I’ve been in a really painful situation, there’s always been something about it that was strangely funny. And some really sad songs I think are strangely funny, they’re so extreme”.

As well as keeping busy with her work as a commissioned partner and working on her forthcoming novel, Rennie has also recently returned from playing The Mystery Train, a kind of alternative music version of the infamous Motley Cruise, an event where a number of alt-country and folk bands played every day to a small audience on a private train car which included a stopover at the Grand Canyon. “It was utter debauchery” Rennie laughs. “There was something about being on this shaking thing through the night with a bunch of people just singing and drinking that was special”.

The Handsome Family will play in more refined surrounds when they return to Australia in January for dates which include the famous Spiegeltent. Rennie is promising to dress for the occasion – think leiderhosen – but a live date with this band always offers more than novelty outfits. The honesty of their work is lapped up by an audience Rennie thinks of as personal friends, and there does seem a genuine connection between those listening and this band who are unafraid to explore the darker side of love. “I just think that the importance of love is not that it makes you feel good or bad, it’s just that it makes you feel” Rennie says. “I’d much rather feel pain than be numb”.

The Handsome Family is in Australia this month as a guest of the Sydney Festival:

Sunday 10 January – Rosemount Hotel, Perth
Wednesday 13 January – Prince Bandroom, Melbourne
Thursday 14 January – The Famous Spiegeltent, Sydney Festival
Friday 15 January – The Famous Spiegeltent, Sydney Festival