The Handsome Family have a new album called Unseen, which brought them to Chicago for a concert on Sunday night at the Old Town School of Folk Music. Sadly, I missed that show, but I did see the group’s cool performance of several songs on Tuesday, Sept. 20, in an art gallery. Presented by Aron Packer Projects at the Tom Robinson Gallery, it was part of a one-night-only exhibit of paintings by Rennie Sparks, the Handsome Family’s brilliant lyricist. In addition to Rennie’s richly imaginative paintings of animals, the exhibit included a few items that weren’t for sale: a sample of her collection of dog and cat food cans from around the world, and a display case of cat whiskers she has collected. These oddities were the perfect backdrop for a short sample of Brett and Rennie Sparks’ beautiful and darkly humorous old-fashioned country and folk music. (Terry Gross’ interview of the Handsome Family this week on NPR’s Fresh Air is well worth hearing.)
