Last Days of Wonder

Last Days of Wonder is the seventh studio album released by The Handsome Family. It was released 2006 by Carrot Top Records (North America) / Loose Music (Europe). The title is a reference to Puritan scientist and witch-hunter Cotton Mather's 1693 book Wonders of the Invisible World, which lyricist Rennie Sparks found intriguing because of what she called its "madness brimming under the surface of things."[6]

Last Days of Wonder
Studio album by
The Handsome Family
Released2006
Length43:23
LabelCarrot Top / Loose Music
The Handsome Family chronology
Singing Bones
(2003)		 Last Days of Wonder
(2006)		 Honey Moon
(2009)
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic80/100[1]
Review scores
SourceRating
The A.V. ClubA−[2]
Pitchfork Media6.7/10[3]
Robert ChristgauA-[4]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music[5]

Reception

The album was well received by critics: according to Metacritic, the album has received an average review score of 80/100, based on 17 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews."[1] Critic Robert Christgau wrote, "At her best—which must not come easy, or they'd release more and more consistent albums—Rennie Sparks is a great American realist."[4] The A.V. Club's Christopher Bahn said that "the Sparks don't seem particularly interested in experimenting with new musical styles, but that isn't a weakness so much as an unswerving fix on what they do better than anyone else."[2]

Track listing
  1. "Your Great Journey" – 3:13
  2. "Tesla's Hotel Room" – 3:56
  3. "These Golden Jewels" – 3:32
  4. "After We Shot The Grizzly" – 3:33
  5. "Flapping Your Broken Wings" – 3:45
  6. "Beautiful William" – 4:22
  7. "All The Time In Airports" – 3:43
  8. "White Lights" – 3:36
  9. "Bowling Alley Bar" – 2:52
  10. "Hunter Green" - 4:29
  11. "Our Blue Sky" - 2:59
  12. "Somewhere Else To Be" - 3:23

Personnel[7]
The Handsome Family
  • Rennie Sparks - lyrics; artwork; some autoharp, banjo, ukulele, vocals
  • Brett Sparks - music; all instruments except as follows

with:

  • David Coulter - saw on "These Golden Jewels"
  • Stephen Dorocke - pedal steel on "Your Great Journey" and "Somewhere Else to Be"
  • David Gutierrez - jazz guitar on "After We Shot the Grizzly"
  • Eric Johnson - banjo on "After We Shot the Grizzly"
  • Darrel Sparks - harmony vocals on "All The Time in Airports", "Our Blue Sky" and "Your Great Journey"
  • Mark Weaver - trombone on "Tesla's Hotel Room"
  • Amanda Kooser - 12-string guitar on "Our Blue Sky"
Technical

References
  1. "Last Days of Wonder Reviews". Metacritic.com. Retrieved 2020-07-31.
  2. Bahn, Christopher (5 July 2006). "Review: The Handsome Family, Last Days Of Wonder". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 28 April 2015.
  3. "The Handsome Family: Last Days of Wonder". Pitchfork.
  4. Christgau, Robert. "The Handsome Family". Robert Christgau. Retrieved 2023-06-01.
  5. Larkin, Colin, ed. (2011). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Omnibus Press. p. 1637. ISBN 978-0-85712-595-8. Retrieved 2023-06-01.
  6. Bahn, Christopher (8 February 2006). "Interview: Brett and Rennie Sparks of The Handsome Family". A.V. Club. Retrieved 28 April 2015.
  7. cf. Brett & Rennie Sparks (2006): Credits. In Last Days Of Wonder [CD booklet]. Chicago: Carrot Top Records.



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