Later on this week The Handsome Family set out on a 12 date tour of the UK (as part of a wider tour of Europe), including an already sold out appearance at London’s suitably gothic Grade 1-listed masterpiece Union Chapel.
The tour follows the release last year of Rennie and Brett Sparks’ tenth album, Unseen (a video of ‘Back In The Day’, the second single to be taken from the record can be seen below). Expect to hear material from Unseen alongside older songs taken from the couple’s recording career that now stretches back almost quarter of a century.
Speaking about ‘Back In The Day’ – the video of which she directed – Rennie Sparkes says “it grew out of my frustration at the new street lights put up around our house in Albuquerque, New Mexico. It no longer gets dark here. We get a half-twilight orange dusk for a few hours and then the sun comes up again. I miss the dark night. I miss the stars and the calm that comes from looking out into black space. In this darkness-deprived state I can’t be held responsible for whatever false memories pop into my head, but I truly do remember playing music on rings of ice. I remember trying to fold a map. I remember feeling the entire forest watching me as I wandered off into the pines. Brett says all the instruments used to record this song were actually made from ice. He still wears a wristwatch. It may not be removable. He has seen monsters in the sea.”
Support at these shows is provided by fellow Loose Records recording artists Courtney Marie Andrews who recently topped the UK Americana chart – a review of her latest album Honest Life appeared on these pages only last month – and indie-rock-Americana three-piece William The Conqueror *
UK Tour dates:
18 Feb – CARDIFF, The Globe*
19 Feb – LEAMINGTON SPA, Assembly*
21 Feb – NORWICH, Arts Centre
22 Feb – MANCHESTER, RNCM Concert Hall
23 Feb – GLASGOW, St Luke’s
24 Feb – EDINBURGH, The Caves
25 Feb – GATESHEAD, Sage 2
27 Feb – LEEDS, Brudenell Social Club
28 Feb – BRISTOL, St George’s
2 Mar – LONDON, Union Chapel
3 Mar – BRIGHTON, Concorde 2
4 Mar – FOLKESTONE, Quarterhouse*
Full information on this tour can be found HERE
