Larkin Poe's sound is rooted in airbrushed folk/country with a few added soulful blues tendencies.
Thick As Thieves is the band's fifth release and again shows a curious reluctance to put out a full length album.
The seven track, 25-minute EP follows on from four seasonally themed EPs - Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall.
All songs are co-written by the wholesome looking sisters Rebecca and Megan Lowell who were born and raised in Georgia.
Rebecca is the lead vocalist and plays acoustic guitar and mandolin. Her older sister sings harmonies as well as playing lapsteel and dobro. They are backed by Chad Melton (drums), Rick Lollar (guitar) and guest musicians Todd Parks (bass) and Will Robertson (keyboards).
They sing of love's capacity to hurt and engender hope with the best track being Play On, a straight pop song with a catchy hook.
If you want more of their music you need to buy the special edition where you get a bonus DVD filmed Live In Stongfjorden of an intimate show at Honschagen Wine Cellar in Norway. For this one-off gig they don medieval gowns and play in front of a polite gathering of just 36 people.
I think I would warm to the Lowell sisters more if they stuck to what they are best at, which is playing bright and breezy radio friendly tunes. Instead they insist on dabbling in edgier blues-based territories which only serve to reveal their limitations.
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At the end of their Norwegian performance they play an extended cover of Elmore James' Bleeding Heart primarily to show off their instrumental prowess and for the encore they play Folson Prison Blues as though it were a jaunty tune of hope and salvation. Both fail to recognise the essence of these great songs and display a lack of understanding about what made the original versions so compelling.
Rebecca Lowell has a pure voice which is technically precise yet devoid of emotional clout despite her attempts to sound raw and gutsy.
As a result the music is undemanding and never rises far above the category of bland, easy listening.
Larkin Poe's website
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