PRESS
Larkin Grimm / Parplar
The Independent (UK) | Andy Gill
5 Star Review
Idiosyncratic singer-songwriter Larkin Grimm may be the next star of the
wyrd-folk boom, this debut album easily equalling - in quality and sheer
oddity -anything recorded by Devendra Banhart, Joanna Newsom or Espers.
Don't be deceived by the somewhat prim, tremulous voice Grimm employs for
the opener "They Were Wrong"; elsewhere, she employs a weird, multitracked
high register, like a cartoon-mice chorus, for such tracks as "Dominican
Rum" and "Mina Minou", and comes on like a predatory witch for the
celebration of carnal sensuality "Blond and Golden Johns", whose frank
licentiousness will bring blushes to the cheeks of any passing maiden aunts.
The arrangements perfectly reflect Grimm's quirkiness, involving oddball
combinations of guitar, percussion, trumpet, keyboards, and what sounds like
hurdy-gurdy, to create a series of backdrops that variously sound like
medieval folkie drones ("The Dip"), cajun gospel ("Fall On My Knees"), and
creepy Country and Western on "Ride That Cyclone", a track infectious enough
to be a left field hit.