We recently shared the welcome news of The Handsome Family‘s eleventh studio album, Hollow (out Sep. 8, 2023 – Pre-Order), an album that delves into the natural world at the edges of the man-made. It is a record lush with leaves and shadows and echoing with occult mystery.
The video for their dream-inspired lead single “Joseph” (premiered here) arrived with the earlier album announcement, and today we have the mischievous and mysterious offering “Skunks“, on which Brett sings “Squirrels in the basement / Raccoons in the walls / Centipedes with stingers.” Featuring a spooky Beethoven-inspired piano, Brett’s eerie whooping creates a jingle for an increasingly desperate business. “Call us anytime at night,” Brett sings. “Call us day or night.”
They tell us that “Skunks” is an imaginary pest control service ad. Brett crawls in and out of nooks and crevices in our 125-year-old house, inspecting the apparatus and searching for varmints, relocating raccoons and skunks in a “humane manner.” The piano tip-toes through webs of brushed snare. The guitarist is lost in the maze. The dish runs away with the spoon.
The Handsome Family’s new record began with a scream in the night. “It was a bleak winter during the middle of the pandemic,” says Brett Sparks. “One night around 4 a.m. Rennie started screaming in her sleep. She screamed, ‘Come into the circle Joseph! There’s no moon tonight.’ Scary as it was, I thought, man, that’s a good chorus!”
The Handsome Family (songwriting and marriage partners Brett and Rennie Sparks) have been defining the dark end of americana for over 30 years. Brett writes the music, and Rennie writes the words. Their work has been covered by many artists, including Jeff Tweedy, Andrew Bird and most recently, Phoebe Bridgers. Their song “Far From Any Road” was the opening theme for HBO’s True Detective season one and still receives thousands of Shazams every week from all over the world.
Handsome Family songs take place under overpasses and inside airports. Historical figures like George A. Custer and Nikola Tesla appear alongside a flying milkman and the whisper of an air conditioner against a plastic tree.
“We’re astonished to be breathing,” Rennie says about the band’s longevity, “Let alone still be inspired to write songs and sing together. There’s been a lot of smashed coffee cups in our house over the years, but we’re still unable to resist the urge to make music.”
Hollow Tracklist:
- Joseph
- Two Black Shoes
- The King of Everything
- Skunks
- The Oldest Water
- Mothballs
- Shady Lake
- To The Oaks
- Strawberry Moon
- Invisible Man
- Good Night
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