In The Air

CMJ - "...[They] continue to weave the idyllic and the grotesque into an almost beautiful homage to country....proving once again that they're inimitable talents." Spin - 8 out of 10 - "...The duo's craft reaching a peak....the prosaic economy of these images...deliver the uncanny in the voice of the ordinary..." Q - 3 stars out of 5 - "...Certainly hypnotic, if possibly too dark for some tastes....Having more in common with Nick Cave than the Dixie Chicks..." Rolling Stone - 3.5 stars out of 5 - "...Honky-pop and avant-tonk country music for people who would rather pretend Shania and Garth never existed....[They] continue to trade infinitely sad songs...without over-emoting..." Spin - Ranked #4 in Spin's "10 Best Records You Didn't Hear Of The Year [2000]". No Depression - "...traditional country....Musically, Brett Sparks had an intuitive grasp of the form. He's adept at penning a mournful fiddler's waltz...a twangy, Johnny Cash-like shuffle...even a Jordanaires-styled gospel ballad..." Mojo - "Superb....embracing not just sky, snow and birds plus earthy matters such as the ground-dweller's ambiguous relationship with nature and the ethereal....The innocent, jaunty, sorrowful beautifully-played music is the perfect counterpart." NME - 7 out of 10 - "...alt-country's anti-Waltons....very probably, mad. But theirs is a beautiful madness....Warm like a thermal straitjacket." Rolling Stone (4/13/00, p.133) - 3.5 stars out of 5 - "...Honky-pop and avant-tonk country music for people who would rather pretend Shania and Garth never existed....[They] continue to trade infinitely sad songs...without over-emoting..." Spin (1/01, p.76) - Ranked #4 in Spin's "10 Best Records You Didn't Hear Of The Year [2000]". Spin (6/00, p.162) - 8 out of 10 - "...The duo's craft reaching a peak....the prosaic economy of these images...deliver the uncanny in the voice of the ordinary..." Q (5/00, p.108) - 3 stars out of 5 - "...Certainly hypnotic, if possibly too dark for some tastes....Having more in common with Nick Cave than the Dixie Chicks..." CMJ (3/6/00, p.25) - "...[They] continue to weave the idyllic and the grotesque into an almost beautiful homage to country....proving once again that they're inimitable talents." No Depression (3-4/00, pp.109-110) - "...traditional country....Musically, Brett Sparks had an intuitive grasp of the form. He's adept at penning a mournful fiddler's waltz...a twangy, Johnny Cash-like shuffle...even a Jordanaires-styled gospel ballad..." Mojo (Publisher) (3/00, p.105) - "Superb....embracing not just sky, snow and birds plus earthy matters such as the ground-dweller's ambiguous relationship with nature and the ethereal....The innocent, jaunty, sorrowful beautifully-played music is the perfect counterpart." NME (Magazine) (3/11/00, p.34) - 7 out of 10 - "...alt-country's anti-Waltons....very probably, mad. But theirs is a beautiful madness....Warm like a thermal straitjacket."

Brett and Rennie Sparks are often referred to as the Gomez and Morticia Adams of the alt country scene. Indeed, their dark, gothic version of Americana infests a world full of creepy loners, murder ballads, and strange, desperate goings-on. As on the duo's previous albums, the framework is one based on traditional country and folk structures, and the feel is one of homemade quirkiness (IN THE AIR was recorded in its entirety in the Sparks' living room). The Handsome Family is one of those rare groups that seems to get better as it goes along. The lyrics here are sharper, the melodies more ear-tugging, and the production/arrangements more direct than before. "A Beautiful Thing" and "So Much Wine" are affecting, concise ballads that cast a rueful, poetic eye on disastrous relationships. "Don't Be Scared" and "When the Helicopter Comes" utilize absurdity and surrealism made familiar by traditional-sounding melodies. "Grandmother Waits for You" and "My Beautiful Bride" talk unflinchingly of death, making mortality just another color in the palette. The Sparks' mastery of cutting, imagistic lyrics and simple, roots-oriented song structures makes IN THE AIR consistently touching and disturbing.|