The Handsome Family
Last Days Of Wonder
Spunk/Virgin/EMI


Husband-and-wife duo The Handsome Family are in no hurry with their songs. This is a band more familiar with the words 'glacial' and 'funereal' than Tom Cruise is with 'crazy' and 'closet'. But if the (lack of) pace isn't a turn-off you'll be well rewarded: The Handsome Family are superb exponents of the craft of writing and recording music.

Their songs are, typically, tales of woe delivered with little fuss or shock value, such as the adventure gone horribly wrong in After We Shot The Grizzly. "After we shot the grizzly/After the airship crashed/After we lost the compass/After the radio went dead," it begins with an eerie matter-of-factness, suggesting Brett Sparks is merely recounting a trip to the supermarket. By the time it reaches "One by one we chose our straws till only I remained," the conclusion is inevitable.

Sparks' baritone is the band's calling-card, but it's his wife Rennie who writes the lyrics he so convincingly brings to life. Your Great Journey opens the album with an otherworldly air and beautifully subtle lyrics: "You're no longer leaving footprints," and '"When automatic sinks in airports no longer see your hands." And when Sparks' multi-tracked voice heartbreakingly cries, "Why would he leave us/Why would he leave us this way?" on Beautiful William, it's as compelling as anything the Thom Yorkes of the world have ever delivered.

Often lumped in with the alt-country scene, that tag doesn't do justice to the gothic stylings of The Handsome Family. 'Last Days Of Wonder' - for all its minimalist leanings - boasts contributions from jazz guitar, banjo, and even trombone, but it's the saw on These Golden Jewels that really stands out; the track actually sounds like one of the oldest recordings ever made.

On a scorchingly hot night last year, they managed to noticeably lower the temperature at the Grace Emily. Fingers crossed The Handsome Family return with this gem under their belts.

Wade Howland