Islington Academy, London 21/05/2009
Friday, 29th May 2009
There are a number of things that strike you immediately about the Smoke Fairies. Appearing from nowhere, with minimal fuss, to a smattering of polite applause, they don’t look like anyone’s idea of a kick-ass roots outfit. Two lithe,...
Editor's Diary : The Duke And The King
Thursday, 28th May 2009
London Bush Hall, May 26 2009Uncut Editor Allan Jones was front and center for The Duke & The King's London show and wrote about the show on his blog.- - - - -The last time I saw Simone Felice anywhere near a London stage, he was hanging above...
Handsomes pull a shift
Wednesday, 27th May 2009
The Handsome Family are going to work in Road Records (16B Fade Street, Dublin 2) next Tuesday 2nd June from 4.30pm until 6pm. They’ll be serving customers and doing their utmost to sell their own (and even other acts’) records."Honey Moon"...
Faith Rewarded: The Duke and the King at Union Hall
Friday, 22nd May 2009
About 100 or so hardcore fans, friends and family of The Duke and the King watched the debut performance of the band at Union Hall in Brooklyn. They came to the show, mostly, without having any idea what the band would sound like, what kind of...
Simone Felice book reading
Friday, 22nd May 2009
Whilst over on UK shores, Simone Felice will be not introducing his new line up 'The Duke & The King' but also stopping past the Book club boutique to read excerpts from his literary works.When: Monday, May 25th, 7pmWhere: The Book Club Boutique,...
Dig [Defend Yourself]
Thursday, 21st May 2009
Husband and wife duo Brett and Rennie Sparks are The Handsome Family. Their most recent disc, Honey Moon, finds the Albuquerqueans in a deep Thoreauvian obsession with the three "L's" of country: lovin', leavin' and longin'.THIS ALBUM GOES FROM A...
The Glasgow Herald
Tuesday, 19th May 2009
Tron Theatre, GlasgowGrab their attention with the opening line is good advice to any writer, be it novelist or songsmith. It's advice that Rennie Sparks, the lyric-writing partner of the Handsome Family, has taken to heart over the years, luring...
Ralfe Band & Mr David Viner live this Thursday
Monday, 18th May 2009
A reminder that this Thursday night (21st May) Ralfe Band will be performing and being interviewed live for Beat Happening.The Beat Happening Sessions’ concept is simple: the band performs a live set, and then the writers of Beat Happening...
Pennyblack Music
Friday, 15th May 2009
The Handsome Family have been making their own unique brand of Gothic Americana for over fifteen years now. Up until this, their eighth studio album, there hasn’t been much change musically in the world of the husband and wife duo of Brett and...
Oprha Magazine
Friday, 15th May 2009
After two decades of marriage, love remains a strange and wild thing for Brett and Rennie Sparks, the country-folk duo known as the Handsome Family. On their new album, Honey Moon (Carrot Top), which marks their 20th anniversary, love is a thorny...
DUKE & THE KING LIVE CD OFFER
Tuesday, 12th May 2009
On Tuesday 26th May The Duke & The King make there live UK debut with a showcase at London's Bush Hall.Available on the night will be the exclusive hand numbered, gatefold, double 7" Vinyl EP with, get this; A FREE FULL COPY OF THE FORTHCOMING...
Interviewed in Chicago
Sunday, 10th May 2009
We grabbed some time in our green room with The Handsome Family to discuss the relationship at the core of their band, writing love songs, road trip music power dynamics and more.www.schubas.com
State: Honey Moon
Thursday, 7th May 2009
For love songs, Rennie Sparks has said, "Triteness is really a problem." Sparks is half of the Handsome Family, with her husband Brett. Their songs have in the past tended to be more about aeroplane disasters and bloody killings – they’ve...
If you ever get famous...
Tuesday, 5th May 2009
Filmed during there session for Woodstock WDST100, The Duke & The King play 'If You ever get famous' from the forthcoming LP Nothing Gold Can Stay
www.adequacy.net
Sunday, 3rd May 2009
Having a successful marriage has to be one of the most rewarding joys we can share in life. Now, when you’re able to fulfill your craft through this partnership is surely another delight all on its own. Throughout their existence as a band,...
The Handsome Family's Second Honeymoon
Saturday, 2nd May 2009
Here's a profile of the wonderful alt-country duo The Handsome Family that I wrote for SEE Magazine. I spoke to Rennie Sparks, who was lovably unpretentious and full of laughter through our entire conversation; her personality seems like the...
The Duke & The King live in session
Friday, 1st May 2009
The Duke & The King will be attending the Woodstock (WDST 100.1) Studios this afternoon (Friday) for an exclusive live session. The band will be playing tracks from there forthcoming debut LP in one of there first live...
VJCD184 - The Duke & the King - 'Nothing Gold Can Stay'
Friday, 1st May 2009
VJCD184 - 'Nothing Gold Can Stay'Released: July 20th 2009 * Press Release (pdf) - 680kb * Press Release (doc) - 308kbAlbum Cover1500 x 1500 / 1.5mbPlease click on the thumbnail to open the hi res image ...
Handsome Family on Pitchfork
Thursday, 30th April 2009
Brett and Rennie Sparks have been recording together as the Handsome Family for 14 years now, but they've been married for 20. To mark their china anniversary, the couple are foregoing a retrospective of their seven studio albums (although...
The Boss gets Loose
Wednesday, 29th April 2009
This month's Uncut Magazine has a big Bruce Springsteen feature, interview, cover plus a covermount CD.One of the topics covered is the "Walk In" music you may hear on Bruce Springsteen's current tour. We checked the full listing online and were...
The Handsome Family on AMG website
Monday, 27th April 2009
Good overview of the Handsome Family and new album Honey Moon on the AMG site with track previews.www.allmusicguide.com
Handsome Family in Time Out
Sunday, 26th April 2009
"... Tracks like 'The Loneliness of Magnets' are fitting testimony to one of music's most madly romantic partnerships."- - - - - - - - - -
Handsome's on BBC Ulster
Saturday, 25th April 2009
Ralph McLean ran a full feature on the new Handsome Family album on his 'McLean's Country' show last week.Darling My Darling, The Loneliness Of Magnets, The Petrified Forest and Wild Wood can all be heard via the listen again via the BBC iPlayer
Online Reviews (overviews)
Friday, 24th April 2009
The Independent website are running an online summery of all the glowing feedback for Honey Moon;"There's a burnt beauty to 'Honey Moon' – something akin to Mark Twain re-written by Edgar Allan Poe – that exerts a deliciously morbid pull on...
A.V. Club
Tuesday, 21st April 2009
Brett and Rennie Sparks have been married and making music for more than a decade, and over that time, they’ve settled into a signature sound combining Brett’s deep baritone and penchant for mid-tempo alt-country balladry with Rennie’s...