Larkin Poe - Venom and Faith

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Larkin Poe, Southern charm that won't give you the Blues

Larkin Poe comprise of two sisters based in Nashville, Rebecca and Megan Lovell. And when you base yourself in Nashville you are pretty much only going to have one musical style in mind, of course it is going to be a Country music duo isn’t it. Well yes and very much no at the same time, yes there is a Country influence but add in a bit of Blues, a bit of alternative and even a smattering of Punk and you are starting to get a feel for Larkin Poe.

This is there third full album following ‘Kin’, ‘Reskinned’ and ‘Peach’ all of which have been critically acclaimed, and added to their ever growing Worldwide fan base. ‘Venom and Faith’ picks up where they left off on the last album, giving more of their genre crossing songs a waiting public. The album opens with ‘Sometimes’ with almost an acapella Blues sounds that you tell is slowly building, it almost teases you into the album but add to the sense of anticipation and highlights the powerful vocals that underpin their sound.

‘Honey, Honey’ is not an ABBA cover as I initially thought, has a slightly darker country blues sound, with a bit of the Punky sound I alluded too, I always like it when people take their core sound but play around the edges. They have a very Traditional Blues sound in one respect, but it comes across with a thoroughly modern edge to it, very southern US at times but in way that demands and received a much wider appreciation across the musical spectrum. Though perhaps not quite into ABBA covers yet, they have no need when they so much of their own wonderful material to share.

The tracks can go from quite upbeat to more raw emotion, like in ‘Ain’t gonna Cry’ which is another track that shows both their song writing skills and musicianship to their fullest. The album seems to race to a close with most of the tracks coming in under three minutes, final track ‘Good and Gone’ which ends the album on another traditional sounding Southern states sound,. This track equally leaves you wanting more, the way it should be as a closer. I look forward to seeing it live now, as I can imagine the songs will come alive even more then and they are pretty much perfect on record.

Review by Jon Cooper 

Check Out! the Video for 'Bleach Blonde, Bottle Blues' Below...