Sky Larkin
The Golden Spike (Wichita)
Debut single ‘Fossil, I’ is the first of thirteen fairly enjoyable Sky Larkin creations on their debut album. But this is probably the kind of record that transforms from ‘fairly enjoyable’ to ‘immense’ when its contents are taken out on a stage in front of excitable young boys and girls with silly haircuts.
Vocalist, Katie, sounds like the confrontational sister of her namesake Katie Sutherland (of Pearl and the Puppets), all grown up and gone electric. Comparisons aside, this album casts aside many of the generic nuances that abound in British ‘alternative’ music. Maybe the formulaic composition of songs like ‘Molten’ doesn’t quite shed enough, but that’s made up for elsewhere, with the likes of ‘Matador’, which takes the record on a slightly less hectic turn than many of its neighbours.
There’s no doubt that ‘The Golden Spike’ will take Sky Larkin on to places bigger than Leeds and recruit a hearty young band of followers in the process. You might not be entranced by this album but Katie Harkin seems to show signs of becoming a most engaging front woman – and we need some more of these this side of the Atlantic – which might just be enough to bring these songs to life onstage.
itm? contributor
