Handsome Family

One of the most engaging songwriting teams right now, Brett and Rennie Sparks's dark humour and wild imagination are once again on full display on this, the fourth album they have crafted together in their Chicago home. As lyricist, Rennie is in especially fine form with her new batch of grim fairytales, such as "The Sad Milkman" and "My Beautiful Bride." When voiced by Brett, the songs take on a deeper terror, summed up by the unnervingly poignant "A Beautiful Thing." Musically, Brett continues to progress as well on various instruments. In The Air is sonically consistent with 1999's brilliant Through The Trees, despite still lacking the cohesion of a full band. Yet that's not part of the Sparks's mystique; they seem to thoroughly accept their image as the post-modern American gothic couple and this unusual partnership remains the core of their timeless music. Let's just hope they don't procreate, for the child's sake.