#524 : Larkin Poe & Nu Deco Ensemble - Paint the Roses

 

2021 – Tricki-Woo Records

By Phillip Smith; Oct. 23, 2021

I’m always excited to hear about new music from Larkin Poe.  I’ve been a fan of this duo since hearing them open for Elvis Costello at the Paramount Theater in Cedar Rapids, Iowa five years ago.  The original songs Rebecca Lovell and Megan Lovell write are beautiful, sometimes intense, and cut deep to the bone.  Lead vocalist/guitarist Rebecca captivates me with her beautiful, yet fearless voice.  The vocal harmony she shares with lap-steel wizard Megan is magical.

Paint the Roses is a seven-track release which Larkin Poe recorded live at the North Beach Bandshell in Miami, Florida on December 12, 2020 with the orchestral backing of Nu Deco Ensemble.  Once I heard their new take on Bessie Jones’ “Sometimes” which also appears on their 2018 Venom & Faith album, I knew I was in for a real treat.  The infusion of clapping hands, strings, and horns took me to church in a big way.  Next up on the track list is “Back Down South” an original off their 2020 album Self Made Man.  Megan’s lap slide is performed with perfect precision as Rebecca rips it up on guitar and delivers the song with her enchanting voice.  It sounds fantastic with the enrichment of the Nu Deco Ensemble as the song takes a dip into the Allman’s “Blue Sky” for a brief intermission.  Before diving into a four-track superfecta of songs, all off Self Made Man, Larkin Poe introduces a new song called “Mad as a Hatter”, which I absolutely adore.  The pulse of this homage to Alice in Wonderland runs with a rapid pace, and dips momentarily into psychedelic territory.  “Every Bird That Flies” is such a beautiful song, and surely earns its wings with the accompaniment from the ensemble.  I love the slow build-up of tension accomplished with the instrumentation, which is then then slowly released to send the song skyward.  Larkin Poe closes out the show in an amazing performance of “She’s a Self Made Man”.  Cloaked in a horn-laden suit, this hard blues-rocker is a perfect fit for a future 007 theme song.  

I knew I would like Paint the Roses, but I was surprised at just how much I liked it.  This is surely a record folks will want to add to their collection.         

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 For more information about the artist, visit this website : www.larkinpoe.com

Larkin Poe - Reskinned

2016 –  RH Music

By Phillip Smith; Oct. 8, 2016

Thanks to Elvis Costello, the music of Atlanta-based duo Larkin Poe is now in my awareness.  Rebecca and Megan Lovell have been opening for Costello on his most recent tour, Detour.  The talents of this sister-duo run deep.  Rebecca commands the stage with her no-holds barred presence on both mic and lead guitar, while Megan pours out rich vocal harmonies, all while slaying the lap steel guitar.  Reskinned, their second full length album brings to the table five new tracks and seven re-released songs from the 2014 critically acclaimed Kin.

From the beginning, with the hard-rockin’ “Sucker Puncher”, Larkin Poe is quick to grab me by the collar.  This song is dripping with attitude.  Between the fierce riffs coming from Rebecca and lush slide from Megan, I am totally captivated.  The Lovells seriously kick out the jams with their bad-girl anthem “Trouble in Mind”.  I love the sheer rawness of “P.R.O.B.L.E.M”, with its riveting guitar licks and punk attitude served Jack White style.  Stand-out songs, the deliciously swampy “When God Closes a Door” and the wonderfully melodic and bluesy “Blunt” puts the magnifying glass to religion and dogma. 

Their style of songwriting is unique and oftentimes dark, and their performance is wondrous and exciting. Reskinned is such a terrific album, I can hardly stand to take it out of the CD player.

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