Larkin Grimm Albums (3)
What The Critics Say
Parplar might be in some ways a folk record, or at least a folky singer/songwriter one. But if so, it's at the freakiest margins of those genres -- not in a distasteful outsider way, but in a pretty impressive and certainly very eclectic one. A major aspect of that eclecticism is the sheer number of instruments employed, including not just Larkin Grimm's own acoustic guitar, dulcimer banjo, Casio, and Chinese harp, but also accordion, dobro, viola, trumpet, violin, trombone, electric guitar, and more by numerous supporting musicians. But the most important element of the music -- and one that's just as varied in timbre as the instrumentation -- is Grimm's voice, which can go from angelic high crooning to mischievous, low, whispery phrasing, as well as more rustic basic folky singing and nerve-jangling, almost munchkin-ish high-pitched vibrations. It can get almost as accessible as some of Joni Mitchell or Phoebe Snow's work, or as weird as some of the odder early 21st century acid folk. Never settling into predictable moods, there's something for a wide range of adventurous folk and rock fans here, whether the near alt-country folk of some tunes; the "Ghost Riders in the Sky"-like "Ride That Cyclone"; the haunting classical chamber music-tinged aura of some tracks; the reserved and remote starkness of "They Were Wrong," which might be most in line with what many underground female folk vocalists were offering around this era; or the sheer eccentric whimsy of "How to Catch a Lizard," whose weirdness is in the Holy Modal Rounders' league. If there's any criticism, it's that the sheer variety, a strength in many ways, can also be a weakness in that it sometimes seems as though Grimm is an actor playing numerous parts, making one wonder, at times, whether the versatility is coming at expense of personal expression. ~ Richie Unterberger, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Larkin Grimm's second album for Secret Eye shows that her knack for strikingly theatrical songs and performances remains strong. If no album can quite capture the sheer, surprising, enjoyable warmth and vividness of her live work (persuading an audience to howl joyously like wolves is just one small part of it), this is still much more than simply an audio souvenir. Working with a pool of collaborators including family members and fellow singer/performer Lara Polangco, Grimm moves between full arrangements and stark, stripped down efforts featuring just her and her guitar. If the term "acid folk" -- or the even more overused "freak folk" -- is long since starting to wear out its welcome, it's because it doesn't quite capture the blend of styles artists like Grimm bring to bear; it's as much hints of drone and film soundtrack orchestrations as it is unplugged guitar in a dark, mystic landscape. Perhaps it's no surprise that the song lengths themselves vary widely, from barely two-minute long pieces like "The Sun Comes Up" to the over-ten-minute long "Little Weeper," the latter all the more striking for being a vocal/guitar-only number that maintains its focused strength throughout. Grimm's voice is reason enough to give The Last Tree an ear, as she moves from song to song -- or within one -- from soothing reflection to keening, wordless cry. The latter can be heard in strength on the otherwise instrumental "Into the Grey Forest, Breathing Love," a brief but striking collage of everything from dulcimer to, as the credits say, walls and floor. Lyrically too she brings much to bear -- if the words to her live favorite "I Killed Someone" might seem, on first blush, a standard murder ballad motif, phrases like "His breath, it rattled like the call of cicadas" stick in the mind. Perhaps the most intense song on an intense album is "The Most Excruciating Vibe," a (very vocal) portrayal of frustrated lust set against a deceptively serene arrangement. ~ Ned Raggett, All Music Guide
