Send "Sky Larkin " Ringtones to your Cell 
| Pitchfork |
 rom Nirvana to the White Stripes, there's a storied tradition of UK media hype catapulting emergent U.S. indie bands to international success. But for all their apparent Yankophilia, the Brits have seemed less eager to make stars out of domestic acts with a pronounced American indie-rock influence. Whether it's the Pixies-schooled punch of Future of the Left or the Pavement-inspired polemics of Los Campesinos!, recent history suggests that the adoption of American college-rock tropes will relegate you to cult status in the UK.This discouraging evidence seems to have inspired Leeds trio Sky Larkin to fly the proverbial flannel all the more fervently. They've even going so far as to travel to Seattle to record with producer John Goodmanson, whose two most famous clients-- Sleater-Kinney and Death Cab For Cutie-- serve as handy goalposts for the terrain covered on second release Kaleide. And in frontwoman Katie Harkin, Sky Larkin possess a mouthpiece with enough personality and vigor to potentially break them above-ground. Kaleide's excellent opening track, "Steel Windmills", is her star-making showcase, a song so anxious it starts right with the chorus, on which Harkin ardently declares, "I know there's potential!" Whether "Steel Windmills" is an appeal to her audience to make the most out of their lives or simply an advert for alternative sources of energy, Harkin's performance-- trading off between droll sing-speak and impassioned pleading-- sells you on the need to make it happen now. And the way she suddenly drops her voice for the last line of each verse before the chorus comes crashing back in manages to make the familiar, grunge-standby soft-to-loud trick seem novel again....full text |
| Bbc |
| It's not necessary to listen to much of Leeds trio Sky Larkin's debut record, The Golden Spike, to realise what the band are all about; and not much longer than that is needed to realise what is so appealing about the type of music they play. On that album we became familiar with a group who knew how to squeeze as good as everything out of the three-minute guitar-pop song with eyes cast across the Atlantic and their feet firmly on British soil. With Kaleide, they pick up where they left off. As ever, Katie Harkin's voice threatens to burst out of its constraints from the start, but stays powerful and steady through each varying passage of play, whether bold or placid. Although on the surface the direction has altered hardly at all, there are hints – the hushed beginning of Landlocked and the slow-driven Anjelica Huston – which show a development in the trio's mastery and use of dynamics. Worry not, songs still burst violently when they need to – like on opener Still Windmills – but the density of those cuts is enhanced by the occasional mellow undercurrent, as the Pacific-coast-kissed Spooktacular proves, following a lull in intensity. It isn't until the closer, Smarts, that the band hit their peak and arguably fulfil what they're capable of for the first time in two albums. It is, without reservation, a side which we need to see more of. The way Harkin sings gently, caressing the words from her lips over the top of an understated yet threatening guitar and drum backing, gives us a rare chance to take in the lyrical strength of the band, away from the crunching chords and crashing cymbals....full text |
| Guardian |
| It's hard not to suspect that Sky Larkin are in some way responsible for the bizarre recent phenomenon of "West Yorkshire grunge". Like 2009's The Golden Spike, the Leeds trio recorded this in Seattle; they have clearly grown up worshipping the Breeders and at least one band member has been sighted wearing plaid. However, their developing sound contains far too many curveballs to be pigeonholed. Everything from Gang of Four guitars to Joy Division/White Lies drumming makes an appearance. The fizzy Landlocked is probably coincidentally similar to James's 1980s Factory classic What's the World, while Kate Harkin's exuberant vocals and effervescent pop sensibility recall the mighty Go-Go's. Alas, Anjelica Huston is a song about a romantic goodbye, not an unlikely sighting of the Addams Family star in gothic Leeds, and the songwriting isn't always strong enough to complete the package. Still, bookend tracks Still Windmills and Shade By Shade – each with a hook big enough to hang your coat on – show how far they could go....full text |
Sky Larkin lyrics
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