Artist: The Handsome Family
Album: Wilderness
Bitrate: 246kbps avg
Quality: EAC Secure Mode / LAME 3.98.4 / -V0 / 44.100Khz
Label: Loose Music
Genre: Indie
Size: 97.78 megs
PlayTime: 0h 52min 42sec total
Rip Date: 2013-05-25
Store Date: 2013-05-17
Track List:
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01. Flies 3:41
02. Frogs 4:41
03. Eels 4:25
04. Octopus 3:33
05. Owls 3:59
06. Caterpillars 4:42
07. Glow Worm 5:33
08. Lizard 5:12
09. Woodpecker 4:22
10. Gulls 4:20
11. Spider 3:54
12. Wildebeest 4:20
Release Notes:
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Comprising of husband and wife duo Brett and Rennie Sparks, the Handsome Family
have steadily become one of the most critically revered American bands of the
past two decades.
Hailed as "The Beatles of the folk world" by no less a luminary than Greil
Marcus, æWildernessÆ, the duoÆs tenth album since their 1994 debut LP æOdessaÆ
continues their voyage into Southern Gothic-inspired folk and country terrain.
Principal architects (along with Kurt Wagner of Lambchop) of what has become
known as alt. country, the pairÆs songs find their centre of gravity around
RennieÆs exquisitely detailed lyrics and BrettÆs deep, sonorous voice.
Billed as "wild animals, tall tales and dark stories from American history", the
tracks, backed by largely acoustic instrumentation, create the impression of
mini-novellas set to music, each one a vignette soaked in the influence of myth,
folklore and sepia-toned local history.
Its titles all derived from animal names, opening cut æFliesÆ tackles natureÆs
adaptation to encroaching human development, detailing the arrival of a Wal-Mart
store as birds adapt to nest in the buildingÆs roof.
æFrogs', which comes second, shows off the coupleÆs vocal interplay, and is an
epically slow lament that pads along softly on slide guitars and sparse
drumbeats, thrown into sharp contrast by the piano-led chug of æOctopusÆ, the
most Beatles-esque cut and the poppiest moment of the set.
As proof of how far the couple have pushed the alt. country template, two
tracks, the weeping lap steel of æOwlsÆ and æSpiderÆ, shot through with mournful
fiddle are the most straightforward country-inspired pieces on the collection,
demonstrating how wide-ranging the sonic ground covered by the Handsome Family
is.
The dusky atmosphere of 'Caterpillars', led by refracted, liquid guitar lines ,
is one of richest narratives on an album stuffed full of them while æGlow WormÆ
led by BrettÆs resonant vocal evokes the snowy desolation of Edith WhartonÆs
æEthan FromeÆ.
æLizardÆ, a deceptively upbeat tale of a small-town gone bad vies with
æWoodpeckerÆ as the highpoints of the set, the latter an Appalachian duet
recouting the tale of the 1896 æWisconsin Window SmasherÆ Mary Sweeney, who
after 100 arrests for destroying panes of glass was committed to the state
asylum.
Towards the close, the slightly inconsequential æGullsÆ backed with Indian
percussion, meanders past pleasantly enough, while concluding track æWildebeestÆ
recounts the tragically early death of æThe Father of American MusicÆ Stephen
Foster in 1864.
Patiently ploughing their own furrow over the past two decades to growing
acclaim, æWildernessÆ should deservedly scoop the same critical plaudits as
previous æFamily outings, the latest entry into the bandÆs extensive canon of
outstanding work.