For the Handsome Family, upcoming album Honey Moon—a collection of love songs due April 14—is a startling left turn. The husband/wife duo of Brett and Rennie Sparks still deals in spectral bluegrass and noirish folk forms on its ninth album, but gone are the ghosts and murder ballads that had painted them into a gothic-Americana corner. (Trust us, the album is still plenty weird. Love is weird.) The Handsome Family is guest editing magnetmagazine.com this week. Read our Q&A with Brett and Rennie about Honey Moon and a host of other topics.
Rennie Sparks: I hate to see parsley left uneaten at the edge of a dinner plate. The ancient Greeks adorned their graves with parsley and believed the herb originally sprung from the blood of an infant dragged away by a dragon. In the 14th century, parsley was woven into feathered masks and worn to protect against the plague. We still have a few cases of plague out here in New Mexico every year, as well as bears and raccoons infected with rabies. I doubt I would rely on parsley to cure either ailment, but I have pureéd it with garlic, olive oil and sea salt to make a paste of the greenest hue that adds flavor to just about anything.
