I discovered Lark quite recently, through the 7” release of ‘A Failed Scheme’, which featured a remix / re-recording of the track by Scritti Politti. Being from the first album, it isn’t to be found on here, but there’s no shortage of quality listening to be had across the fifteen tracks on this, Lark’s second full-length release.
‘I Don’t Got’ is one of those albums that’s eclectic yet cohesive, and grabs the listener by the throat right from the start, with the scuzzed-out rockabilly surf stylings of ‘The Bible Rhymer’ showcasing the frantic vocals of Karl Bielik to powerful effect. He’s got one of those vocal styles that incorporates yelping and drawling both at the same time – sounding mildly unhinged. The effect is heightened when he does in a cracked falsetto, as on she low-slung shakedown ‘Palucca’.
At their swaggering best, as on ‘The Scream’, ‘Kong’ and ‘Sling Me’, Lark carve a grimy, gritty groove and invite positive comparisons to The Stooges and Grinderman, not to mention The Cramps and early Gallon Drunk. Elsewhere, ‘Another Lover’ is reminiscent of Pavement circa ‘Slanted and Enchanted’ in one of their Fall-inspired moments. The guitars are fuzzy, trebly, the playing loose over the stomping rhythms. What makes ‘I Don’t Got’ a cracking album is the fact that however many comparisons the songs invite, however many reference points I can pin on them, Lark always emerge sounding quite distinctly like Lark. When they slow it down, as on ‘Shiny Sins’ and the stripped-back ‘That’s What People Do’, the atmosphere is vaguely chilling, the mood cracked.
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‘I Don’t Got’ isn’t an album that’s spoiled by overproduction: in fact, it’s so raw it stings and is seeping puss. It’s this jaggedness that gives the songs a real immediacy, but rather than feel unfinished or as though the recordings don’t do them justice, the listener is dragged right into the heart of the song.
Lark Online
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