The Moshville Times - Album Review: Larkin Poe

I was surprised to discover that Larkin Poe have yet to feature in a Moshville Times review. Larkin Poe are two sisters, Rebecca and Megan Lovell, and they took the band name from their great-great-great-great-grandfather (a cousin of Edgar Allan Poe no less!). They have released seven studio albums so far and Bloom will be their eighth. They formed in 2010 and have been producing outstanding blend of Southern rock, blues and Americana ever since. Shame on us for not writing about them before now.

I do not have a credit list for this album but I suspect the Lovell sisters are all over it. Rebecca takes lead vocals and has a stoater of a voice: powerful and yet vulnerable when it needs to be. She is also the lead guitarist and plays a variety of other stringed instruments along with piano and drum programming. A musical force to be reckoned with. Megan plays lap steel… and what a player she is; I love every time she takes off on one of her solos. She is also credited with backing vocals and I have to say, I love the way the the Lovell sisters’ voices blend together. (More of this when I talk about the last track.) Also closely involved with this album is Tyler Bryant (as in “& The Shakedown”) who is described a a “co-producer” along with the Lovell Sister. The whole album sounds fantastic and there is a feeling that, once again, they have moved their sound another step forward. There is a theme running through the album as they consider their identity as well as their musical influences.

The first track on Bloom, “Mockingbird”, is a good example of this introspection. My description of Larkin Poe above as “Southern rock, blues and Americana” is not untypical of how people struggle to pin down the un-pinnable: “…they are a bit like that but with some of this and… well… essentially, they sound like themselves.”. Now inevitably all artists will learn from others (even if they learn what not to do!) but Larkin Poe are working to absorb these interests while cultivating their own sound while staying to themselves and resisting the expectations of industry, fans and even past success. A few quotes from “Mockingbird” will help explain.

I listened to the whispers
Bending out of shape
To fit into a picture
I didn’t even want to take

But the chorus says:

Like a mockingbird
Singing a thousands songs
That don’t belong to me
…
But if you listen closely
And get a little bit lucky
You just might hear my melody
My secret melody

Yes, sometimes, wear their influences on their selves, but for those of us who listen, we can hear Larkin Poe! See the video at the end of the review and try and spot them yourself.

Track three, “Little Bit”, is interesting as it seems to stand against the “geed is good” mantra that was prevalent in the eighties and seems to be coming back with a vengeance now: the pursuit of happiness; the pursuit of wealth; the pursuit of more… to the exclusion of all else: friends; family; peace of mind! Rockefeller, at the time, possibly the richest man in the world was once asked, “How, much money do you need to be happy?’ In reply, he said, “…just a little more!”. Larkin Poe’s response in the lyrics of this song are:

I know that I could climb higher and higher
But I’m rich right here right now ‘
…Cause when you’re moving down the line
Can’t put a price on peace of mind

In a world where more is more, it’s good to seen an artist counting their blessings!

If you like what we do, consider ing us on Patreon for as little as £1 per month!

I love both the title and the track, “Bluephoria”. It is obviously a play on the word “euphoria” but what is it saying? Is it an oxymoron, or is it saying that the blues can be borne well? It is a belter of a song either way: Rebecca’s vocals are especially powerful and Megan’s slide solo is outstanding. And, once again, the lyrics pick up one of the albums common themes:

I grew all the way up
Gonna grow myself down, deep roots, gonna sing a different tune
We are who we are, I may not be a star
But I know that I can shine like the moon

So many other songs I could rave about, for example, I want to ask who is casting the ‘Pearls” in track eight… but I promised above that I would say something about the sisters’ harmonies, and “Bloom Again” shows them blending together perfectly. It has long been observed that there is a quality in the way siblings harmonise with examples cited such as the Everly Brothers, the Andrews Sisters, the Gallagher Brothers… well OK, not Liam and Noels who were not noted for being particularly harmonious but I include them as the exception that proves the rule. The Lovell Sisters though are right up there with the best and “Bloom Again” shows them creating more than the sum of the parts as they sing a very poignant love song; a love song that deals with the reality of love, not just the ‘moon, June, spoon”, stage. Just gorgeous! Love is something that has to be worked at but the song ends with a feeling of triumphant hope.

This is a deep, introspective album that deals with profound ideas of identity and art… but most of all Bloom is an album that is a joy to experience!

Track List: