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Larkin Grimm - Parplar
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Matthew Fiander | popmatters.comIt is probably easiest to call Larkin Grimm a folk singer, but doing that fails to capture just how difficult she is to pin down. http://www.popmatters.com/pm/review/68925-larkin-grimm-parplar/ She can play the solitary, sad ballad like any good folk singer, as on opener "They Were Wrong". But once she lets out that sadness, she seems to cut free of it, and the rest of Parplar is a fiery and energetic challenge to the listener. She plays on images on femininity in songs like "Blond and Golden Johns" and "Dominican Rum", sneering at the artifice of hyper-sexuality and cosmetic surgery. And when she¹s not full of that infectious defiance, she is all wide-eyed joy. Her take on the traditional "Fall on Your Knees" insists that you stomp on the floor. "My Justine" is a convergence of any stringed instrument you can think of, and they ride a rocky road under Grimm as her vocals rise to the astral plane. Throughout the record, Portland, Maine collective Fire on Fire back up Grimm, and their loose, spaced out folk is the perfect background for Grimm¹s earthen sound. And while you might be inclined to throw her into the freak-folk movement, what she¹s......
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Larkin's strange trip
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Brian Rademaekers - Philadelphia Weekly Larkin Grimm might call Young Gods Records - shared by the likes of the Akron Family and Devandra Banhart - her current musical home, but other than that, this young and eclectic musician is a drifting gypsy making a name for herself in the world of psychedelic folk. http://www.philly.com/community/pa/philadelphia/netimes/Weekly_Columns.html?viewAll=y Her music is a richly textured amalgam of sounds and moods, with weird percussion and smoothed out by her forceful vocals. The 26-year-old singer and songwriter made her debut on Young God in October with the release of Parplar, a 15-track album that spans just over 40 minutes. Produced by Grimm and Michael Gira, who has worked with Banhart, the Akron Family, Angels Of Light, Swans and others, Parplar is an album full of unique gems that range from creepy and haunting to the wild and seductive. And while her bio seems to be one full of fantastical mythology, it might also give some insight to the bizarre, unconventional songs she calls her own. Born in Memphis, Tenn., Grimm was raised by free-loving parents who were members of a religious cult known as the "Holy Order Of MANS." They moved on from that scene when Grimm......
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Fire on Fire - The Orchard
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Matthew Proctor | stereosubversion.com A band of ragamuffins can certainly change.Leaving behind their debut EP’s awkwardness, Fire on Fire‘s proper full-length gallops and rambles through somber shaded defiant declarations in a rural landscape haunted by sinister potentialities. Imagine an East coast version of 16 Horsepower without the rock guitars and the heavy-handed religious distractions. Oddly fitting, the five piece group holds a similar DNA burden as 1960’s mystic folkies Pentangle. Fire on Fire’s origins are traced back to the messy strangeness of an anything goes, throw the kitchen sink in there weirdness of Cerberus Shoals. The group‘s alchemy pf electrified hazy edges to absolutely deft masters of folk instrumentation is nothing short of admirable. Production and mixing suggest a warm rustic gathering around an old hearth. Banjo often takes the lead and every member shares lead vocals at some point. Song structures easily follow the standard verse/chorus dynamic, but here the chorus soars with dense group harmonies. Such a typical approach often would be boring, yet Fire on Fire reveal to be strong songwriters and inventively simple arrangers. The good songs are many in number here. “Assanine Race” warbles effectively with cynical lyrics describing keeping up with Mr. Jones and......
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larkin grimm / interview
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www.rocknrolldating.com / by The Metal ManLarkin's intense, ecstatic voice with swirling multi-tracked patterns recalls the richness of Illuminations-period Buffy Sainte-Marie and the sparkle of Linda Perhacs. www.rocknrolldating.com http://www.rocknrolldating.com/datesfrom.php/4 The Metalman Larkin Grimm January 18, 2009 Larkin's intense, ecstatic voice with swirling multi-tracked patterns recalls the richness of Illuminations-period Buffy Sainte-Marie and the sparkle of Linda Perhacs. Her instrumentation includes duclimer, pennywhistle, bells, drums and guitar. Larkin was previously a member of the Dirty Projectors where she astounded audiences with her mesmerizing voice. We're honored to have her story. Ever since I started working with Michael Gira, fans of his seminal noise-rock band Swans have been contacting me. Some really strange characters have come into my life this way. A large proportion of them are singers in metal bands who send me their records and ask me out on dates, obviously trying to use me to get to him. My Date From Hell was the result of one such character who distinguished himself by being a protégé of Jarboe, the Ex-Swans Metal Diva herself, and he enlisted her help in convincing me to go out with him. Jarboe, who lives not far from my home in Georgia, insisted that I take......
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Grimm's tales: Former Yalie folkie returns
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Patrick Ferrucci, Register Entertainment Editor | New Haven Register When Larkin Grimm arrived at Yale in September of 2000, the Memphis-born singer/songwriter wanted to be either a politician or an actress. But like many wide-eyed teenagers, she changed those goals multiple times, eventually winding up one of the most important names on the ever-growing freak-folk scene. http://www.nhregister.com/articles/2009/01/16/entertainment/doc496ff21c4ca6f739564994.txt "I got to Yale," recalls Grimm during a recent phone conversation, "and had a little bit of a spiritual awakening when I went to Alaska. Then I decided I wanted to be an artist." Trained as a visual artist, Grimm soon found Yale's arts scene discouraging. She didn't fit in. Having been born into the spiritual commune Holy Order of MANS, an orthodox Christian sect that eventually made its way onto the federal government's list of cults, she wasn't used to a big city. After her parents left the commune early in Grimm's life, the family relocated to a rural area of Georgia where her parents performed folk music. The cliquish arts scene in New Haven didn't feel right. "It was a little too elitist for me," she says, "so I started making music. One of the only ways I had a connection......