ArtsEtc: We didn't want to just go `La-la-la'... The Handsome Family tell Louise Gray why they sing about suicide, sirens and Styrofoam.(Features) From: The Independent on Sunday (London, England) | Date: April 7, 2002| Author: | COPYRIGHT 2002 Independent Newspapers (UK) Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan.  All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group.Copyright information

Brett and Rennie Sparks, red-eyed off an 18-hour flight from the tumbleweeds of their New Mexico hometown of Albuquerque, are phlegmatic about their cult status Stateside. "It's difficult for a duo like us in America," offers Rennie, by way of explanation on why the Handsome Family may never be as big as Britney. "Seeing as we're not 16 and neither of us have really nice breasts, we have to exist on a very underground level." Working in an area that's loosely termed as alt-country, the Handsome Family specialise in songs about death, suicide and misfits. "We're marginalised," ...