US duo – The Handsome Family – are pleased to announce a brand new album for this Autumn: ‘Hollow’.
Released on 8th September via the Loose label, the announcement today is coupled with the release of its lead single “Joseph“, which was premiered by Folk Radio UK.
Their upcoming eleventh studio album, ‘Hollow‘ (out 8th Sept, 2023) 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. And it all began with a scream in the night… As Brett Sparks recalls:
“It was the last bleak winter months, last year of the pandemic. We had been working on the record the entire time, but at this point the lockdown, isolation, and dread had sapped us of our creative energy. However, we were hoping to write 2 or 3 more standout songs to flesh out the record. At the time we had fallen into a weird alternate sleep pattern. I was in the habit of staying up until 4am before going to bed. Rennie, on the other hand, woke up and began her day at around 5am. One night as I lay in bed waiting to drift into sleep, Rennie started mumbling. Talking in her sleep. She grew louder and louder, til she was screaming “Come into the circle Joseph. There’s no moon tonight.” This was frightening but at the same time compelling. In other words, it would make a great chorus. I got out of bed and wrote the words down. The next day, Rennie added verses—commands, ritual incantations, destructive procedures, investigations, and so on. This song wrote itself.”
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.
‘Hollow’ by The Handsome Family is out on 8th September via the Loose label. The full tracklist is as follows:
TRACK LIST
1. Joseph
2. Two Black Shoes
3. The King Of Everything
4. Skunks
5. The Oldest Water
6. Mothballs
7. Shady Lake
8. To The Oaks
9. Strawberry Moon
10. Invisible Man
11. Good Night
