Last Days of Wonder

Last Days of Wonder is the seventh studio album 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
Released	2006
Length	43:23
Label	Carrot Top / Loose Music
The Handsome Family chronology
Singing Bones (2003) Last Days of Wonder (2006) Honey Moon (2009)

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	80/100[1]
Review scores
Source	Rating
The A.V. Club	A−[2]
Pitchfork Media	6.7/10[3]
Robert Christgau	A−[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

Source:^[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

• Mastered by Roger Seibel/SAE - mastering
• Johanna Nelson - back cover photo (https://www.flickr.com/photos/girlfromauntie).
• Sheila Sachs - layout assistance