![\"\"](\"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/larkin_poe.jpg\")
On KIN<\/i>, their 2014 debut as Larkin Poe, sisters Megan and Rebecca Lovell debuted a modern roots style that owed a debt to blues but didn\u2019t fit comfortably into the admittedly wide framework of the genre. Stinging slide guitars provided a sonic connection to the tradition of classic electric blues, but songs like \u201cJailbreak\u201d had a production aesthetic that placed the music more on the rock side of the musical continuum.<\/p>\n
The balance has shifted toward blues (of a sort) with Venom & Faith<\/i>. The opening track on the duo\u2019s new album, \u201cSometimes\u201d sounds like a field holler filtered through a backwoods gospel church. Modern production flourishes bring the song back into the 21st<\/sup> century, but as its heart \u2014 in style and intent \u2014 the Lovell sisters are specifically aiming at the vibe of the previous century\u2019s blues traditions.<\/p>\n If the whole album sounded like that first tune, Larkin Poe might be open to changes of cultural appropriation. But as the album unfolds, the group reveals a more nuanced take on the blues. \u201cBleach Blonde Bottle Blues\u201d is all \u201870s rock \u2018n\u2019 roll swagger, but the arrangement is anchored in the blues. Rebecca Lovell\u2019s lead vocals can occasionally come off slightly mannered, but there\u2019s no denying her skill at running up and down the scale. And she does it in a way that serves the songs, that isn\u2019t showy for its own sake.<\/p>\n Guitarist Tyler Bryant guests on the country blues \u201cMississippi,\u201d and the song\u2019s stinging slide work is hypnotic and inviting. As on a number of other Venom & Faith<\/i> tracks, here Larkin Poe conjures a vintage feel by dialing back the drum kit in favor of handclaps and foot stomps. \u201cCalifornia King\u201d provides some of the album\u2019s most interesting instrumental textures, with banjo and electric guitar playing off one another. Venom & Faith<\/i> often feels like an Americana-flavored musical travelogue. But it also features more explicit nods to blues history in songs like \u201cHard Time Killing Floor Blues.\u201d<\/p>\n The album ends with the meditative \u201cGood and Gone,\u201d one of few tracks on Venom & Faith<\/i> that employs keyboards. A Hammond organ is placed deep in the mix, and for most of the tune it\u2019s used largely as a drone, but its presence is a sign that Larkin Poe is careful to avoid painting itself into a stylistic corner.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" On KIN, their 2014 debut as Larkin Poe, sisters Megan and Rebecca Lovell debuted a modern roots style that owed a debt to blues but didn\u2019t fit comfortably into the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":15656,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,9,49,65],"tags":[3639],"class_list":["post-15655","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-americana","category-blues","category-new-release","category-review","tag-larkin-poe","cat-6-id","cat-9-id","cat-49-id","cat-65-id","has_thumb"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15655","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15655"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15655\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15657,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15655\/revisions\/15657"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15656"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15655"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15655"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15655"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}