The Handsome Family is an American music duo consisting of husband and wife Brett and Rennie Sparks formed in Chicago, Illinois, and as of 2001 based in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

[7] They wrote their third full-length album, Through the Trees, in the aftermath of these events, and included a song, "My Ghost", inspired by Brett's experiences in the psychiatric unit.

[7] A growing following and raised profile allowed Brett and Rennie to give up their day jobs and work on the band full time.

[10] In 2001, they moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico, and released Twilight, with Allmusic opining that the album leads "the listener down a lovely yet dark trail few would dare tread twice".

[13] They have subsequently released the albums Singing Bones (2003), Last Days of Wonder (2006), Honey Moon (2009), Wilderness (2013), and Unseen (2016) as well as the collections Smothered and Covered (2003) and Scattered (2010).

[7] The duo's penchant for a tongue-in-cheek, macabre approach has been noted by many critics; Andy Fyfe of Mojo called them "Americana's ghostly Sonny & Cher.

"[26] Rennie's lyrics have a strong storytelling component, drawing on themes from Gothic fiction, as well as American folk music, and often involving macabre subjects as murders, suicides and ghosts.

Some songs are also based on actual historical figures or events, including the lives and deaths of Amelia Earhart ("Amelia Earhart vs. the Dancing Bear", on Milk and Scissors), Emily Shore ("Emily Shore 1819–1839", on Milk and Scissors), Robert Wadlow ("The Giant of Illinois", on Through the Trees), Natalie Wood ("Natalie Wood", an outtake from Twilight, which appears on Smothered and Covered), and Nikola Tesla ("Tesla's Hotel Room", on Last Days of Wonder).

[29] In 2022, Bird also contributed to Phoebe Bridgers's holiday cover of their song "So Much Wine" from In the Air alongside Irish actor Paul Mescal and bandmates Marshall Vore and Harrison Whitford.