The Handsome Family - wikipedia The Handsome Family The Handsome Family The Handsome Family performing live in 2008 Background information Origin Chicago, Illinois, US Genres Alternative country, americana, indie folk Years active 1993 -- present Labels Carrot Top Records, Loose Music, Scout Releases Website http://www.handsomefamily.com/ Members Brett Sparks Rennie Sparks Past members Mike Werner The Handsome Family is an alternative country and Americana duo consisting of husband and wife Brett and Rennie Sparks formed in Chicago, Illinois, and currently based in Albuquerque, New Mexico. They are perhaps best known for their song `` Far from Any Road '' from the album Singing Bones, which was used as the main title theme for the first season of HBO 's 2014 crime drama True Detective. The band 's 10th album, Unseen, was released on September 16, 2016, the first new release on the band 's own label. Contents 1 History 2 Musical style 3 Discography 3.1 Albums 3.2 Singles 4 References 5 External links History Husband - and - wife duo Brett Sparks ( vocals, guitar, keyboards ) and Rennie Sparks ( bass, banjo, vocals ) formed the band in 1993, along with drummer Mike Werner. The band would later revolve around Rennie, who writes the lyrics, and Brett, who writes the music. Guest musicians complete the band line - up for recordings and live work. Regarding the band name, Brett said in an interview : `` It 's just kind of a stupid name. We used to have this really obnoxious drummer, and he used to call me ' Handsome ', that was his nickname for me, I think for sarcastic reasons... And he wanted to call it the Handsome Family... and we thought it was funny, too. We thought it was a good name. '' Brett is originally from Odessa, Texas and Rennie from Long Island. The band toured extensively throughout both America and Europe in support of early releases Odessa ( 1994 ) and Milk and Scissors ( 1996 ). During that time, Brett suffered an emotional breakdown, resulting in his hospitalization and diagnosis of bipolar disorder. They wrote their third full - length album, Through the Trees, in the aftermath of these events, and included a song inspired by Brett 's experiences in the psychiatric unit. They recorded the album in 1998, using Jeff Tweedy 's mobile studio, and brought the band to a wider audience. UNCUT named it the `` Best New Country Album of the Year ''. A growing following and raised profile allowed Brett and Rennie to give up their day jobs and work on the band full - time. They toured America and Europe again in support of the 2000 album In the Air. That year, Rennie 's book of short stories, Evil, was released by Chicago publisher Black Hole Press. In 2001, they moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico, and released Twilight, with Allmusic opining that the album leads `` the listener down a lovely yet dark trail few would dare tread twice ''. In 2002, they released a live album, Live at Schuba 's Tavern, a recording from the In the Air tour from Chicago in December 2000. They have subsequently released the albums Singing Bones ( 2003 ), Last Days of Wonder ( 2006 ), Honey Moon ( 2009 ), and Wilderness ( 2013 ) as well as the collections Smothered and Covered ( 2003 ) and Scattered ( 2010 ). Their latest album, Unseen was released in September 2016. The track `` Far from Any Road, '' from the album Singing Bones, was used as the main title theme song for HBO 's 2014 crime drama True Detective by the show 's music director, T Bone Burnett. Their songs have been covered repeatedly by musician Andrew Bird, including a full - length album of covers released in 2014, Things Are Really Great Here, Sort Of... Musical style The Handsome Family 's style is a blend of traditional country, bluegrass, and murder ballads. Early recordings have rock elements, but these were less evident from 1996 's Milk and Scissors onwards. Rennie 's lyrics have a strong storytelling component, drawing on themes from Gothic fiction, as well as American folk music, and often involving macabre subjects as murders, suicides and ghosts. Some songs are also based on actual historical figures or events, including the lives and deaths of Amelia Earhart ( `` Amelia Earhart vs. the Dancing Bear '', on Milk and Scissors ), Emily Shore ( `` Emily Shore 1819 -- 1839 '', on Milk and Scissors ), Robert Wadlow ( `` The Giant of Illinois '', on Through the Trees ), Natalie Wood ( `` Natalie Wood '', an outtake from Twilight, which appears on Smothered and Covered ), and Nikola Tesla ( `` Tesla 's Hotel Room '', on Last Days of Wonder ). The title of Last Days of Wonder is a reference to Puritan scientist and witch - hunter Cotton Mather 's 1693 book Wonders of the Invisible World, which Rennie found intriguing because of what she called its `` madness brimming under the surface of things. '' Discography Albums Odessa ( 1994 ) Carrot Top Records / Scout Releases Milk and Scissors ( 1996 ) Carrot Top Records / Scout Releases Invisible Hands ( 1997 ) Carrot Top Records / Scout Releases ( Vinyl only EP release ) Through the Trees ( 1998 ) Carrot Top Records / Loose Music In the Air ( 2000 ) Carrot Top Records / Loose Music Twilight ( 2001 ) Carrot Top Records / Loose Music Singing Bones ( 2003 ) Carrot Top Records / Loose Music Last Days of Wonder ( 2006 ) Carrot Top Records / Loose Music Honey Moon ( 2009 ) Carrot Top Records / Loose Music Wilderness ( 2013 ) Carrot Top Records / Loose Music Unseen ( 2016 ) Milk & Scissors Music / Loose Music Compilations and Live albums Down in the Valley ( 1999 ) Independent Records ( Ireland only release ) Live at Schuba 's Tavern ( 2002 ) Digital Club Network Smothered and Covered ( 2002 ) Handsome Family Music Scattered ( 2010 ) Handsome Family Music Singles `` My Beautiful Bride '' b / w `` Destroy, Destroy '' ( 1999 ) Magwheel ( 7 '' split w / Sackville ) `` Drunk by Noon '' b / w `` The Blizzard '' ( 2008 ) Carrot Top Records `` Far from Any Road '' ( 2015 ) References Jump up ^ Ayers, Mike ( 2016 - 07 - 13 ). `` Hear the Handsome Family 's ' Gold ' From Their Upcoming New Album ' Unseen ' ( Exclusive ) ''. Wall Street Journal ( Speakeasy blog ). New York City. Retrieved 2016 - 07 - 14. Jump up ^ Doole, Kerry. `` For the Love of Handsome Family ``, Exclaim !, May 2010. ^ Jump up to : Strong, Martin C. ( 2003 ) `` The Handsome Family '', in The Great Indie Discography, Canongate, ISBN 1 - 84195 - 335 - 0. Jump up ^ The Handsome Family, The Triste Interview. Triste. ^ Jump up to : Layne, Joslyn `` The Handsome Family Biography '', Allmusic, Macrovision Corporation Jump up ^ Lyrics to `` My Ghost '', Handsome Family. Jump up ^ Klein, Joshua ( 2002 - 03 - 29 ). `` Review : Rennie Sparks : Evil ''. The A.V. Club. Retrieved 2015 - 04 - 19. Jump up ^ MacNeil, Jason `` Twilight Review '', Allmusic, Macrovision Corporation Jump up ^ Arado, Matt ( 2013 - 05 - 10 ). `` The Handsome Family : Wilderness ''. Popmatters.com. Retrieved 2014 - 02 - 23. Jump up ^ Coberlake, Justin ( 2016 - 10 - 05 ). `` The Handsome Family : Unseen ''. Popmatters.com. Retrieved 2017 - 08 - 05. Jump up ^ Bahn, Christopher ( 8 February 2006 ). `` Interview : Brett and Rennie Sparks of The Handsome Family ''. A.V. Club. Retrieved 28 April 2015. External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to The Handsome Family. Official website 2009 The Handsome Family Interview at Bandega.com the Handsome Family article May 2009 Article Glorious Noise : interview Interview WTF Pod with Marc Maron podcast episode interview The Handsome Family Brett Sparks Rennie Sparks Mike Werner Albums Odessa Milk and Scissors Through the Trees In the Air Twilight Singing Bones Last Days of Wonder Honey Moon Wilderness Live albums Double Live Handsome '' Live at Schuba 's Tavern Compilations Down in the Valley Smothered and Covered Scattered Extended plays `` The Story of the Handsome Family '' Invisible Hands ' In The Forest Of Missing Airplanes '' Singles `` Telephones And Telescopes '' `` My Beautiful Bride '' `` I Know You Are There '' `` Banks Of The Ohio '' `` Far from Any Road '' `` After We Shot The Grizzly '' `` Drunk By Noon '' VIAF : 126904577 ISNI : 0000 0000 8743 4768 BNF : cb140539588 ( data ) MusicBrainz : 195ddaa1 - f1e4 - 4960 - a107 - 58d26cb058a2 Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Handsome_Family&oldid=796150297 '' Categories : American alternative country groups Musical groups established in 1993 Musical groups from Chicago Mint Records artists 1993 establishments in Illinois Musical groups from New Mexico Hidden categories : Articles with hCards Wikipedia articles with VIAF identifiers Wikipedia articles with ISNI identifiers Wikipedia articles with BNF identifiers Wikipedia articles with MusicBrainz identifiers Talk Article Talk Contents About Wikipedia Deutsch Español فارسی Français Italiano Nederlands Norsk Português Русский Svenska Edit links This page was last edited on 18 August 2017, at 20 : 47. 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Question: who sings true detective season 1 theme song
Answer: The Handsome Family