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Leeds has a chequered musical history - for every Kaiser Chiefs and Corinne Bailey Rae there are hundreds of frustrated failures. The Golden Spike may sound more like a Phillip Pullman novel than a hit album, but something just feels right about Leeds band Sky Larkin's debut from start to finish.
There's a familiar, comforting vibe to their music right from the word go on album opener Fossil, I. The exact magic's difficult to pinpoint - maybe it's the perfect mix of indie-pop, or lead singer Katie Harkin's vocal style?
She is a mish-mash of The Ting Tings' Katie, Republica's Saffron, Kay from Letters To Cleo, Evanescence's Amy, Paramore's Hayley - in a nutshell, some of the leading female vocalists from the last ten years of the genre. And that's without the strong hints of Bjork.
There's no slouching from the two males in this trio though - with varied and vibrant backing that's drum heavy on some tracks, and bursting with guitar riffs on others. And Sky Larkin appreciate the value of leaving us wanting more - Fossil, I clocks in at a gnat's sneeze over 2 minutes.
Pica's catchy lyrics (''I'm eating all his coal because I'm trying to make a diamond'') will have you humming along even if they're too fast for you to match. One Of Two is just a great song, plain and simple. Who knows what inspired Matador's bizarre words, but the awesome melody means you don't need to care.
The band are certainly kicking off this year as they mean to go on - unleashing a brilliant debut produced by the man who steered Death Cab For Cutie to success and bagging a headline slot on Radio 1 star Huw Stephens' Introducing tour. Looks like 2009's gonna be golden for Sky Larkin. --Sophie Bruce
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great Debut!,
By
This review is from: The Golden Spike (Audio CD)
Leeds locals Sky Larkin have been bubbling under the radar for a while now, touring relentlessly around the country, releasing two great singles on Leeds based DIY label Dance to the Radio in 2007 and `Fossil, I' on Wichita late last year. The album opens with already mentioned `Fossil, I' which sets the tone for the next forty minutes, plenty of catchy guitar hooks, interesting word play and energetic drumming tying everything together.The fun of their live show remains completely intact on the disc, drummer Nestor joyously cheers in between the beat during the breakdown on `Antibodies' and you can hear the smile breaking across Katie's face when just before the solo on `Beeline'. The songs from their early releases have been re-recorded and whilst fundamentally the same they benefit from the proper production provided and sound much larger and satisfying. Debut single `One of Two' now sounds much darker and brooding than its 2007 iteration, with the guitar now drenched in reverb and a slower delivery on the vocals. Vocalist/Guitarist Katie's lyrics are fantastic throughout and have plenty of variety. Album closer `Keepsakes' plays with the metaphors found in love songs by taking them literally, she will `make sure you are safe' by cutting you into pieces so she can `keep you in bottles and jars but store the bigger bits in the boot of the car'. The highpoint is live favourite `Matador' where the listener is encouraged to stop being `a doormat' and `stand up to the bull'. However, the music lacks the invention found in the lyrics, it is all energetic, bouncy indie rock with the occasional synth line on a few songs. Luckily this is not a fatal flaw, as the saying goes `if it ain't broke, don't fix it' and Sky Larkin have got the art of hook laden indie rock down to an absolute tee.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
what's all this larkin' about,
By
This review is from: The Golden Spike (Audio CD)
For reasons to complicated/boring to explain i got both this album and their follow up (Kaleide) at the same time so this is a bit of a joint review. I have to admit i much prefer this debut effort (the golden spike) which is much more passionate/catchy than Kaleide which i suppose would be said to be more "mature" but unfortunately loses something in the growing up process. Both the albums are however fine examples of indie guitar music at it's best and made spectacular by Katie's excellent vocals. She has a lovely achey/plaintive tone to her singing, somewhat brit poppyish a la Elastica, but it adds a great edge to the top notch guitar playing. You get some peculiar lyrics "sentiment stretched over sediment and soil" which doesn't seem at face value to be very hummable but it's done so well you find it slipping off your tongue almost immediately. The second album is none less peculiar lyric wise "as the train pulled out of the station the light hit your face like Angelica Houston" but i found the repitition more annoying than quirky so although the second album isn't bad i'd recommend the first album as a better starting point.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
4.0 out of 5 stars (1 customer review)
4.0 out of 5 stars
Rockin' indie music - ones to watch,
By bluetwilight - Published on Amazon.com
Guitar-led, punchy indie music with a strong female vocalist. Katie Harkin's British accent is crisp and clear, and the lyrics are often intriguing ("our new city will take us in after we leave home" from Beeline). My favorite songs are Beeline and Antibodies. The album has a sense of fun, it feels like Katie and her band-mates are inviting you to get in on a secret. Let's hope that they don't stay secret for very long...
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