A few weeks ago we shared some tracks from Uncut magazine’s Wilco covers CD. Longstanding MM faves The Handsome Family also contributed a cover – of Capitol City – from 2011’s The Whole Love. Like pretty much everything they do, it is wonderful and Loose have now released it as a single. Enjoy. And the original… Continue reading The Handsome Family – Capitol City (Wilco cover)
The new Handsome Family album Unseen is rapidly becoming one of our most played, and is another fabulous addition to their catalogue of twisted, gothic tinged Americana. The latest track to be shared is Tiny Tina, which tells “the tragic story of tiny-horse-meeting gone awry.” Rennie Spark describes it thus, “Every year at the state fair I went determined to see Tiny Tina the world’s … Continue reading Another From The Handsome Family
Unseen (out on 16th September) the forthcoming album from Americana royalty The Handsome Family is already picking up some outstanding reviews and we are looking forward immensely to getting our greasy paws on a copy. Until then though we have a second track from the album to share with you. Back In My Day is a wonderfully tongue in cheek celebration of years past and sees the band … Continue reading Another From The Handsome Family
It is a delight to discover that one of our favourite bands,  the wonderful cult duo of Brett and Rennie Sparks, aka The Handsome Family will soon return with their tenth studio album Unseen. It is out via one of our favourite labels Loose, on the 16th September. The album continues The Handsome Family’s embrace of things beyond easy view: the slow dive of the sun, enormous bugs … Continue reading New Album From The Handsome Family
Andrew Bird will embark on a North American tour this Summer with his band Hands of Glory. The tour (dates at the foot of this post) will celebrate the release of Bird’s collection of The Handsome Family covers, Things are Really Great Here, Sort Of… which came out at the beginning of this month. Bird, who has long been a fan and first covered their track … Continue reading Andrew Bird Releases Album Of Handsome Family Covers
Here is our traditional free Halloween Mix for 2013 – twenty five great tunes and the fourth year we’ve provided a soundtrack for one of the best nights of the year. Download a perfect mix of ghouls, ghosts, spooks, and all manner of assorted monsters…from all genres and the past 40 years. No trick, all treat! Download Gene Vincent – Race With The Devil mp3 … Continue reading Free Halloween Mix 2013
A superb collection of videos (and songs) today. Just dive into these from The Handsome Family, Secret Colours, Dinosaur Bones and a live version of one of our favourite tracks from 2012, Willy Mason’s brilliant Restless Fugitive. . . [Click through for free downloads] . Continue reading Videos of the Day: Handsome Family || Secret Colours || Dinosaur Bones || Willy Mason
The brilliantly weird Americana of the Handsome Family has long been a fave at MM and new album Wilderness is awaited here with much eagerness. For now, enjoy the video for Woodpecker about the famous 1890s Wisconsin window smasher Mary Sweeney (pre-order the album here) and stream a second album track in the shape of Caterpillars. We’ve already posted a couple of times about Dead Confederate … Continue reading Videos of the Day: The Handsome Family || Dead Confederate || Jonny Fritz || Foxygen
You know the score. MM is a blog that (musically) tends to favour the seedier side of life – murder ballads, heartbreak, despair, stories of the downtrodden, the down-on-their-luck, and the downhearted – you know the kind of things we mean. Ours is a world of lonely beer and whiskey chasers nursed in the back booths of dead-end bars, of crack-whores turning tricks in trailers … Continue reading MM’s Anti-Valentine’s Day Mix
The Handsome Family || Bullingdon Arms, Oxford || May 25th 2012 You never quite know what you’re going to get at a Handsome Family gig. The venue was an old familiar haunt, quite cataclysmically changed from yesteryear – and not in an altogether good way. (Though thankfully, the Back Room of the Bully now has air con, which on a sweltering Friday evening in May … Continue reading The Handsome Family: Live Review
The Mad Mackerel 