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Down in the Valley
Country · 1999 · 3 tracks

Down in the Valley

The Handsome Family

A curated descent into the band's most spectral early works. Baritone tales of giants, tin foil, and tragic sisters set against a backdrop of dusty Americana.

November 1999 · Loose

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Down in the Valley functions as a curated portal into the specific, eerie world-building of The Handsome Family’s first three albums. It avoids the more upbeat or experimental detours of their early career, focusing instead on what the subtitle calls their willowy and haunted side. The sound is defined by Brett Sparks’ resonant, bottomless baritone: a voice that feels like it is being projected from the bottom of a dry well. This is paired with Rennie Sparks’ lyrics, which treat the macabre with a startling, matter-of-fact intimacy.

Tracklist · 3 Tracks
05
#1 Country Song
3:37
08
Don't Be Scared
2:50
13
Moving Furniture
3:06
Moments Worth Listening For
The sudden, chilling clarity of the vocal harmonies on My Sister's Tiny Hands describing a tragic loss.
The way the pedal steel on Weightless Again mimics the feeling of a car cresting a hill.
The sparse, skeletal arrangement of The Giant of Illinois that makes the giant's death feel intimate.
The transition from the mundane act of moving furniture to existential dread in Moving Furniture.
Where This Album DepartsEach spoke is a trait. The orange shape shows where this album pulls away from — or holds to — the rest of the artist’s catalogue. Tap for more.

How does Down in the Valley sound next to the rest of The Handsome Family's catalogue?

Sparse Bare+4.0σ

The production is built around sparse bare than this artist usually allows.

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