Larkin Poe - "Bloom"

They don't want your pearls -- or mine

I first discovered Larkin Poe back in 2022 with the release of their last album, Blood Harmony. I’d never heard of the genric classification of “Roots Rock” prior to that album, but I’ve seen it several times since. Having grown up on Country and now having a preference for Rock and Metal, it’s a genre that I’ve been able to find appreciation for rather quickly — rock with a bit of twang, but altogether different from Southern Rock like Lynyrd Skynyrd. Roots Rock is more flexible, broader, with each act bringing in more specific and localized influences pertaining to their heritage, such as The Revivalists’ usage of jazz instruments and NOLA flair in their music.

For Larkin Poe, those specific localized influences center around North Georgia, with natural extensions into Tennessee and the Carolinas. That area is, naturally, steeped in Country music, but Atlanta and Athens have also produced their share of Rock acts, most notably College Rock groups R.E.M. and The B-52s. But there’s also The Allman Brothers Band, which originally formed in Jacksonville, Florida, but moved to Macon, Georgia, just south of Atlanta, in 1969. Several critics have drawn direct comparisons between Larkin Poe and the Allman Bros. So if you’re a fan of the latter, you really need to give these ladies a listen.

Larkin Poe take their name from their 4x-great grandfather, a cousin to Edgar Allan Poe, but they could (and have) also perform under “The Lovell Sisters”. Because the whole group really is just the pair of sisters — Rebecca and Megan Lovell. They did start out as The Lovell Sisters in the late aughts, and that included their oldest sister, Jessica, as well. But that group disbanded in 2010, and Megan and Rebecca reformed as Larkin Poe, going on to release their debut album, Kin, in 2014.

Bloom is the sixth album for this project, and it kicks off with a song which perfectly encapsulates the Lovells’ strengths — “Mockingbird” is a melodic upbeat rocker with an optimistic tone and a charmingly rustic metaphor. It’s one of the best songs on the album, and the best song in the first half of the album. “Bluephoria” is good, but not on the same level.

The album picks back up again a bit with “Nowhere Fast”, but it really starts coming together with “If God is a Woman” — until this point, the Lovells’ haven’t really said anything, and much of their attitude has been simmering in the background. But it starts to show in this stretch of the album, and it truly is one of their greatest strengths. Their brand of Country- and Blues-infused Roots Rock oozes this no-nonsense strength, and their best songs line up with that, lyrically.

For that reason, “Pearls” is, far and away, the best song on the album.

Bloom does, overall, finish stronger than it starts, despite the strength of “Mockingbird”. The album is very good, start-to-finish; it just doesn’t blow me away as an album. To be fair, though, I don’t think they need me raving about them to feel good about what they’ve produced here. And if you like Blues Rock or Folk Rock, you need to check this group out.

Rating: Green