Larkin Poe

Bloom: An Acoustic Companion Vol. II

Tricki-Woo Records

Larkin Poe—sisters Rebecca and Megan Lovell leading a marvelous, multifaceted band—have done it again, dropping something new, switching it up, and expanding their brand. This time, they offer An Acoustic Companion Vol. II, an EP similar in style to An Acoustic Companion which followed 2022’s Blood Harmony. Vol. II presents five of the songs that appeared on last year’s Bloom, all written by the Lovell sisters and Rebecca’s husband, Tyler Bryant (of Tyler Bryant & the Shakedown), and all reimagined from the couple’s home studio.

On Bloom, Larkin Poe ratcheted up a scintillating, near-stadium rock sound, at times leaving the blues and other roots music styles apparent in their songs to peek from around the corners. As intoxicating as that remains, this approach is equally so. These versions breathe with lush, earthy rhythms that might better highlight the significance of the stories told, and the messages offered.

Having begun their careers in bluegrass music as the teenaged Lovell Sisters, acoustic music and harmony singing comes naturally, talents that have matured significantly. Although they are quite adept at conveying a song as an acoustic duo, this EP offers so much more. Woven around their voices and Rebecca’s guitars and Megan’s lap steel and dobro, are Bryant’s guitars, Tarka Layman’s bass, Caleb Crosby’s drums and percussion, Michael Webb’s B3, and Eleonore Denig’s strings.

“Mockingbird” opens the set and immediately lays bare how magnificently these players interact together. Gentle guitar and lap steel notes swell up into a profound melody that floats around an introspective, inspiring journey of becoming one’s self. A drum-led marching beat then highlights “Little Bit,” a song celebrating life in contentment, the meaning of it—especially to young women—more important now than ever. Traces of folk and bluegrass in the guitar notes land all around that song like butterflies. “If God is a Woman” kicks up the program by kicking it down. A blues of defiance, the song is performed as if from under a moss-draped oak deep in a Louisiana swamp, a mode Larkin Poe has long owned.

They conclude the EP with perhaps the most successful of these recordings. “You Are the River” becomes a gospel truth telling, the ladies’ voices and that of new pianist Lucas Pettee, and the overall vibe of it enthusiastic, and very entertaining. In fact, confidence and optimism are common threads tying all these songs together, that outlook refreshing.

Hopefully an inexpensive download will be made available for An Acoustic Companion Vol. II. Right now, it can only be purchased in a variety of physical formats exclusively at the official Larkin Poe site or at one of their shows. Fans will be rewarded in springing for whichever of them. Those unfamiliar with Larkin Poe should be thrilled with a purchase of Bloom Deluxe, which pairs Bloom and An Acoustic Companion Vol II, two entirely different and exciting sides of Larkin Poe.

Tom Clarke for MAS

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