SKY LARKIN – THE GOLDEN SPIKE

How is it that a three piece alt-rock band from the UK – from Leeds of all places – sounds like the beautiful, over-driven offspring of The Breeders and the raucous, soulful part of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs every-one’s missing sorely since It’s Blitz? Contenders for the least British-sounding band out of Britain, 2009? It’s got everything to do with Katie Harkin, who executes her vocal duties much like Karen O (there’s that reference again), although Harkin delivers it straighter, less histrionic, and plays the guitar with something approaching a 90’s sensibility, Pavement, Dinosaur Jr., Sonic Youth, lots of distortion and open strings. Pica has got to be the standout moment, a two-chord song with blistering drums, a vocal melody somewhere between a jaunty Irish folk song and a serious bit of punk, Harkin wailing “Clean out your ears!” rather auspiciously. Sure, a couple of tracks could have been cut off the end of the album, and Sky Larkin is the worst kind of bad band name pun, but that’s no biggie. The Golden Spike is a kind of throwback album you’re going to want to hear, a refashioning of the Golden Age of indie rock for modern ears, and a hell of a debut for a few young DIY indie-things out of Leeds.

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