Larkin Poe
According to the sisters themselves, 2015 was a defining year of growth for Larkin Poe, an Atlanta-based Roots Rock’n’Roll duo, comprised of Rebecca and Megan Lovell: “We feel lucky to have experienced a year of life-changing moments that shaped and crystallized our artistic direction. We’re entering our mid-twenties, we’re coming into our own. We’ve lost love, we’ve found love. We’ve lived loud, leaving little pieces of our hearts in every club we’ve played around the world – and we are really proud to come out with new songs that speak to that change.”
This “change” they speak of is their second album “RESKINNED”, a re-release follow-up of the critically acclaimed, debut album ‘KIN’. Voted as one of the top-ten albums released in 2014 by Huffington Post, Larkin Poe toured the world supporting the November 2014 release of ‘KIN’. Rebecca states: “As musicians, singers, songwriters, and performers, we learn something new with every show we play; last year we played hundreds of shows: from big festivals, to tiny radio stations; from backing Elvis Costello, to backing Conor Oberst. We’ve learned to stay on our toes and keep our artistic approach fresh.”This perpetual innovation fueled a writing spurt that the sisters felt compelled to immediately record and share with their fans.
A Brief History of Larkin Poe: “We have a very colorful family history,” explains lead singer/guitarist Rebecca, referencing the sisters’ familial connection to tortured artist and creative genius Edgar Allan Poe: “There have been a lot of creative, hotheaded, mentally unstable branches in our family tree. Growing up in the midst of their crazy stories has definitely shaded our perception of normal. As artists, I think some of those eccentricities, passed down from generation to generation, have been even further exaggerated in us!” Megan, who contributes lapsteel to the lineup, chimes in: “As sisters, we wanted to pick a band name that had familial significance, so we decided pay tribute to our ancestors by taking on the name of our great-great-great-grandfather, Larkin Poe.”
The sisters celebrate that unique genealogy, and their own eccentricities, with their release ‘RESKINNED’ on Restoration Hardware’s label RH Music. Produced by Chris Seefried (Fitz and the Tantrums, Lana Del Rey) in Los Angeles, this fresh version of the original album ‘KIN’, includes new productions by Justin Warfield (She Wants Revenge, Nico Vega) and Wax LTD (Muse, Bon Iver, Miley Cyrus, Maroon 5) who produced the new single “Trouble In Mind”. A sassy nod to the sisters’ southern heritage, “Trouble In Mind” features sassy, homegrown lyrics: “I’m a bad little angel, I fell from grace, a Georgia Peach gone bad, yeah, you know the taste.”
“As Georgia girls, we came up listening to and soaking in the source music of the south: the blues, country, Americana and mountain music; classic rock, and southern rock. That deep and gritty heritage has seeped into the bloodstream of our music,” explains Megan, “We’ve reached a point in our lives where we no longer care to be quite so polite, so “nice”, so perfectionistic. Now is the time to be raw, unapologetically overdriven Larkin Poe. Deep in our bones, we are rockers. We’re ready to let the tiger out of the cage.”
The sisters’ southern identity was picked up and echoed by Huffington Post in a recent tagline: “These Gals like their Gritty Southern Heritage with a Cosmopolitan Twist.”
‘RESKINNED’ marks Larkin Poe’s second release with RH Music. After years of fierce independence (i.e., five self-released EPs and three years of international and domestic touring, without label support), the sisters decided to sign with RH Music. “We signed with RH Music because they wholeheartedly believe in our authenticity. They understand that we make music because we inherently need to make music, and they want to support that need,” explains Megan,“They’re a 21st century patron of the arts.” This new release will also be the first for their new relationship with Vertigo/Capitol/Universal Germany in Europe. Rebecca comments: “We are honored to be working with Vertigo/Capitol/Universal in Europe. In the music industry, where “industry” sometimes takes precedence over “music”, the folks at Vertigo are tastemakers who still love music as much as we do.”
“Larkin Poe is our heart and soul, mashed up into a musical form. We live and breathe Larkin Poe,” says Megan, “Supercharged on that life commitment, we’ve been able to record music in studios across the country, to play our songs around the world, to perform onstage with our heroes – all of these experiences are deeply valuable to us and have built a strong foundation. Standing strong on that foundation, we are so proud to release ‘RESKINNED’.” These sisters continue to create their own story; written their way; played and sung by them.
