Monday, April 13, 2009

The Handsome Family

My current favorite band. I first heard them a couple of years ago (long after the rest of the world, no doubt) in a friend's car. Stylistically, they're somewhere between traditional American and alt country. They're minimalists, which is what initially caught my attention, and their lyrics are simply awe-inspiring, if somewhat depressing (or even seemingly psychotic) at times. Well worth a listen if you're not familiar with them. I'd recommend Through the Trees, from which the song below was taken, and Honey Moon, which just came out this week.

The Handsome Family-Weightless Again
Alt. Link


Not bad, eh?

4 comments:

  1. NMJ,
    A happy reader--my work is done!

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  2. Good pick. One of my few remaining auto-buy bands. 'In the Air' and 'Twilight' are also highly recommended. This is the whole American Gothic thing filtered through alt.country- The Sparks' pose in that motif on the inside cover and their name is a pastiche (is that the right word? it just seems to fit) of The Carter Family.

    I didn't know they had a new CD out but it's on my pre-order list now (Amazon Japan releases it on April 20th).

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  3. Hey there "mguest." Thanks for dropping by and commenting. Just so you know, the new one is quite similar musically to previous stuff, but lyrically they play it a bit less "off the wall" (or at least more subtly).

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