Music Reviews - starting with the cliche before branching out to where the music matters. Live and Recorded with an emphasis on country, folk, Americana, singer-songwriter and roots for starters. EST. 2012
Larkin Poe - Hare and Hounds, Kings Heath, Birmingham Wednesday 15th April 2015
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Rebecca Lovell
Almost a year on from unveiling their new sound, it was time
to once again catch up with a Larkin Poe live show to check out the continual
evolution of the talented Lovell siblings’ career odyssey. The gradual
transformation from harmonious roots traditionalists to full blown ‘swampadelic
‘ southern rock has reached a point of embedment with prime evidence of both Rebecca
and Megan effortlessly growing into their new sonic identikit. Close up
observation revealed a band optimising a voluminous sound within the confines
of sisterly harmony; this time more prevalent in musical intuition and emotion
rather than vocal entwinement.
Song-wise the set was unsurprisingly heavily biased to their
latest album KIN which continues to gather praise months after its release, with
the latest accolade being delivered from readers of the respected roots website
Spiral Earth. From a personal perspective, the live highs on the evening
revolved around the core tracks of ‘Stubborn
Love’, ‘Crown of Fire’, ’Jailbreak’ and the radio friendly ‘Don’t’. However it would be remiss not
to honour the extended version of ‘Banks
of Allatoona’ with Megan raising her lap steel guitar playing to impressive levels. Perhaps
there is a touch of irony in the mere observation on the instrument allocation front, of the elder sister Megan holding a position of consistency alongside the
constant switching of Rebecca between acoustic, electric and mandolin. However
such musical fusion adds immense spark to a band devoted intensely to mastering
audience connection.
It was intimated in an interview accompanying this tour that the current style
of Larkin Poe is maybe earmarked for a potential lengthy run, although
precedence adds an element of caution to such a thought. Anyway to back the
initial inkling up, three songs added to the set since last year were in much
the same vein with ‘Hey Sinner’,
seamlessly sampled with the classic ‘Black Betty’, being the pick. Larkin Poe
pre-Kin was thinly represented by ‘Mad as
a Hatter’ accompanied with the usual tale of their genealogical challenges.
The traditional ‘Wade in the Water’,another
long term favourite of the band, also took its rightful place in the set list. In
a diversion from last year’s show at the same venue, the encore wasn’t
concluded with an exhibition of exquisite unaccompanied sibling vocal harmony,
but their version of Cher’s ‘Bang Bang’
still shimmered with nostalgic brilliance.
Raevennan Husbandes
It was a delight to finally see the lucid singer-songwriter
Raevennan Husbandes make her Birmingham debut after first crossing her path at
the Cambridge Folk Festival last year. The distinctive and wholly individual
Raevennan appeared this time in a trio format, supported by Simon Lewis on
cello and the legendary B.J Cole on pedal steel. While she was showered with
praise in these quarters for her recent collaborative work with Tracey Browne,
this support slot focussed more on her solo EP work with songs such as ‘Box of Innocence’ and ‘The Dancer’ standing out. Not afraid to
experiment and stretch her sound in complex angles, Raevennan is in control of
her considerable talent and whichever direction it veers in bulges with
appreciative appeal.
To pair the two contrasting styles of the support and main artists
worked effectively in presenting an entertaining evening, where Larkin Poe were
to successfully sign off this current UK leg of their almost ubiquitous touring
schedule. While this latest incarnation of vaunted exported Georgia talent head
to further their cause to a wider European market, a UK return is planned for
the summer including Elvis Costello support slots and a re-invite to headline
the Maverick Festival in July. Packing a great deal into their formative years
is paying dividends to the prospering careers of Megan and Rebecca Lovell with
the current evolving style of Larkin Poe settling neatly within the rich seam
they have certainly hit.
All photos courtesy of Ian Dunn at Principle Photography
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