Venom & Faith
Tricki Woo, 2018
8/10
The sister duo of Megan and Rebecca Lovell, aka Larkin Poe, are already on their 4th album, and this time the Nashville residents inject a gothic twist to their rootsy ways with a couple of well executed covers, too.
“Sometimes”, a Bessie Jones tune, starts the listen with hand clapping and expressive vocals in the brass friendly and marching band style drumming fun, and “Beach Blonde Bottle Blues” follows with a playful country spirit as Meghan handles slide guitar duties.
Elsewhere, “California King” recruits a warm Americana angle amid a rugged delivery of banjo riffs, while “Blue Ridge Mountains” finds plenty of rhythm in the organic, roots flavored display. “Fly Like An Eagle”, one of the album highlights, then offers strong percussion and soulful vocals in a haunting fashion.
At the end, “Hard Time Killing Floor Blues”, by Skip James, certainly does bring the blues with a precise delivery amid vocal acrobatics, and “Good And Gone” ends the listen musically bare on a vocally strong, nearly gospel exit where organs and pedal steel complement the mood.
An extremely varied effort of cozy textures, the sibling’s brand of modern roots is only getting better with each record, as ‘70s nods, blues influences and country traces are used strategically and flawlessly.
Travels well with: The Marcus King Band- The Marcus King Band; Nikki Lane- Highway Queen