Melting Vinyl: Bringing the cream of live music to Brighton.

Melting Vinyl presents:
The Handsome Family + Frontier Ruckus
Quarterhouse, Folkestone
Thursday 23rd May 2024
Doors 7.00pm / Start 8pm
£25 + booking fee in advance
Seated
Age restrictions – Under 16s must be accompanied by an adult

The Handsome Family (songwriting and marriage partners Brett and Rennie Sparks) have been defining the dark end
of Americana for over 30 years. Brett writes the music and Rennie writes the words. Their work has been covered by
many artists including Jeff Tweedy, Andrew Bird and most-recently Phoebe Bridgers. Their song ‘Far From Any Road’ was the
opening theme for HBO’s True Detective season one and still receives thousands of Shazams every week from all over the
world.

Handsome Family songs take place under overpasses and inside airports. Historical figures like George A. Custer and Nikola
Tesla appear alongside a flying milkman and the whisper of an air conditioner against a plastic tree.
Their eleventh studio album, Hollow (which was out September 2023) delves into the natural world at the edges of the man-made. It is a record lush with leaves and shadows and echoing with occult mystery.

Asked to describe their music Brett says, “Western gothic.” It is music inspired by the abandoned strip malls of desert America
where cracked pavement shimmers with heat and thorny weeds slowly reclaim the land.

Handsome Family songs may be dark, but there’s always laughter on stage. Rennie sings as well as plays banjo and bass. She
often introduces songs with seemingly unrelated stories. Brett, with his deep baritone and stentorian presence, is the
undeniable center of stage.

“We’re astonished to be breathing,” Rennie says about the band’s longevity, “Let alone still be inspired to write songs and sing
together. There’s been a lot of smashed coffee cups in our house over the years, but we’re still unable to resist the urge to
make music.”

“This is music that moves forward by turning the clock back — haunting, primal and strangely heroic.” ~ THE LONDON TIMES

“Dark, elemental, mischievous and mournful” ~ MOJO

Frontier Ruckus
Since the release of their 2008 debut album, the songs of Frontier Ruckus have delivered a singularly detailed representation of the glorious yet grim minutiae of Midwestern suburban life. The obsessively crafted lyrical world of songwriter Matthew Milia is brought to life by David Jones and Zachary Nichols whose instrumental contributions serve as colorfully instinctive extensions. From stages at Lollapalooza and Bonnaroo to the intimate living rooms of fans, this magnetic chemistry has helped Frontier Ruckus garner a dedicated following across the United States and Europe. The band now preps their 6th album for release to highly anticipating fans everywhere — promising more of the magic that led AllMusic to deem Frontier Ruckus:

“…one of the best things to come out of Michigan since Faygo Redpop.” – AllMusic

“Their songs are full of rich, rural details: frozen lakes, swaying trees, highway lights glowing in the deep night.” – Rolling Stone

“…a level of top-notch songwriting most groups never attain on a greatest hits compilation.” – PopMatters

“…piercingly sincere portraits of romance and youth, ripe with close harmonies and meditations on complicated, tender love.”
– CMJ