In the world of the Handsome Family, it would appear that the glass is half full.
The only problem is that the glass is either upside down or shattered on the floor.
Riddled with dark and morbid tales of suburbia, murder, and the demise of carrying pigeons, the baker's dozen offerings seem animal-oriented, but still teem with an eerie old-time country & western sense of foreboding.
Although the first track, "The Snow White Diner," seems uplifting with its "Layla"-like intro, the album waltzes along with keyboards and basic bare-bones accompaniment.
Particularly pretty is "All the TVs in Town" and the spacy background of "Gravity." There is also a sense of this being a dysfunctional Christmas album, exemplified by "Birds You Cannot See." The husband and wife team of Rennie Sparks on keyboards and singer Brett Sparks lead the listener down a lovely yet dark trail few would dare tread twice.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Snow White DinerBrett Sparks, Rennie Sparks | The Handsome Family | Play | 04:01 | 9 MB | 25 MB |
| 2 | Passenger PigeonsBrett Sparks, Rennie Sparks | The Handsome Family | Play | 04:29 | 10 MB | 25 MB |
| 3 | A Dark EyeBrett Sparks, Rennie Sparks | The Handsome Family | Play | 03:54 | 8 MB | 23 MB |
| 4 | There Is a SoundBrett Sparks, Rennie Sparks | The Handsome Family | Play | 03:26 | 7 MB | 19 MB |
| 5 | All the TVs in TownBrett Sparks, Rennie Sparks | The Handsome Family | Play | 03:05 | 7 MB | 19 MB |
| 6 | GravityBrett Sparks, Rennie Sparks | The Handsome Family | Play | 03:08 | 7 MB | 18 MB |
| 7 | Cold, Cold, ColdBrett Sparks, Rennie Sparks | The Handsome Family | Play | 03:11 | 7 MB | 19 MB |
| 8 | No One Fell Asleep AloneBrett Sparks, Rennie Sparks | The Handsome Family | Play | 02:48 | 6 MB | 17 MB |
| 9 | I Know You Are ThereBrett Sparks, Rennie Sparks | The Handsome Family | Play | 03:41 | 8 MB | 22 MB |
| 10 | Birds You Cannot SeeBrett Sparks, Rennie Sparks | The Handsome Family | Play | 02:53 | 6 MB | 17 MB |
| 11 | The White DogBrett Sparks, Rennie Sparks | The Handsome Family | Play | 03:36 | 8 MB | 23 MB |
| 12 | So LongBrett Sparks, Rennie Sparks | The Handsome Family | Play | 03:31 | 8 MB | 22 MB |
| 13 | Peace in the Valley Once AgainBrett Sparks, Rennie Sparks | The Handsome Family | Play | 03:03 | 7 MB | 19 MB |
| 44 mins | 102 MB | |||||
| 44 mins | 274 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Handsome Family | Primary Artist |
| 2 | Ken Sluiter | Mastering |
| 3 | Brett Sparks | Composer, Engineer, Guitar, Vocals |
| 4 | Rennie Sparks | Autoharp, Composer, Keyboards, Vocals, Vocals (Background) |
The Handsome Family
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |