The Handsome Family

After two decades as a much-loved connoisseurs’ secret, the Americana couple went overground when their music was used in US TV show True Detective. Tonight they showed it hadn’t gone to their heads with a captivating set of slow-burning Southern Gothic mini-epics, each full of dramatic shifts and turns. Brett and Rennie Sparks’ onstage chemistry and playful banter featured humour as dry as an Albuquerque breeze as Rennie introduced songs about killer octopuses and her favourite subjects: snakes, shovels and rusty gasoline cans. Had they not been so superb, Arizonian Courtney Marie Andrews’ enchanting opening set might easily have stolen the show. 

Concorde 2, 3 March 2017
Rating:
Steve Clements