Larkin Poe – Thick as Thieves EP (2012)

Larkin Poe

Thick as Thieves

Wonderful change of pace and direction from The Poe

I was a big fan of Larkin Poe’s 2010 collection of 4 EPs – Winter, Spring, Summer & Fall and subsequently went to see them play live twice that year. So, I was expecting more of the same glorious folksy bluegrass music on this latest 7 track EP/album.

But, even before I’d got the chance to actually take in the new songs, I was taken aback by the overall production. It’s much ‘fuller’ than on the previous recordings – even occasionally bordering on the Dinner Jazz of Adele’s records at times. THICK AS THIEVES is by no means the sequel to what was some of the finest folk music I’d heard in years.

After repeated listening the new sound really begins to suit the songs, especially opening track Fox which is very ‘radio friendly’ and has the potential to bring in a whole legion of new fans.

Love or Money has a real Soulful feel to it and the girls’ crystal clear voices soar to new levels throughout, leaving you with goosebumps and the need to put the (metaphorical) needle back to the beginning of the record. It really is that good.

Make it Hurt sounds more like the Larkin Poe of old as it’s full of beautiful vocals, fiddle, banjo and bottleneck guitar; but, it still fits seamlessly in to the new sound. The Lovell sisters appear to be trading lines as they tell a tale of yet another broken heart.

The short album ends with a beautiful tearjerker – Russian Roulette – and then it’s back to the beginning to hear it all over and over again.

Larkin Poe’s new ‘sound’ might lose them a few hardcore folk fans but will unquestionably win them legions of new admirers. We will probably see them on a series of TV sofas all across the Autumn and Winter – good luck to them I say!

The first few copies actually include a terrific bonus CD with two videos and 14 live tracks from an intimate gig in a Norwegian wine cellar.

www.larkinpoe.com