| Last Days of Wonder | |
| Type: | Album |
| Artist: | the Handsome Family |
| Cover: | Artist THE HANDSOME FAMILY album LAST DAYS OF WONDER.jpg |
| Released: | 2006 |
| Length: | 43:23 |
| Label: | Carrot Top / Loose Music |
| Prev Title: | Singing Bones |
| Prev Year: | 2003 |
| Next Title: | Honey Moon |
| Next Year: | 2009 |
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."[1]
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". 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." 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."
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