Larkin Poe's Self Made Man: winningly gnarly and authoritive

Georgia sister act Larkin Poe come back stronger on fifth album Self Made Man

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Larkin Poe - Self Made Man
(Image: © Tricki-Woo)

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There’s something about Rebecca Lovell’s booming, bluesy voice that simply brooks no argument, and on Larkin Poe's fifth studio album she sounds more authoritative than ever. 

Opening salvo She’s A Self Made Man may have a sardonic side to it, but there’s a non-ironic conviction underpinning it that reflects a belief in earthy roots rock values. 

While Larkin Poe are worthy, though, they’re never dull – the Tyler Bryant-guesting Back Down South accompanies a loving evocation of their home region’s musical legacy with a winningly gnarly riff. 

Tears Of Blue To Gold is a joyous, chunky charmer, a blend of rock’n’soul and faintly glam-stomping boogie laced with Megan Lovell’s ever-resonant lap steel.

Johnny Sharp
Johnny Sharp

Johnny is a regular contributor to Prog and Classic Rock magazines, both online and in print. Johnny is a highly experienced and versatile music writer whose tastes range from prog and hard rock to R’n’B, funk, folk and blues. He has written about music professionally for 30 years, surviving the Britpop wars at the NME in the 90s (under the hard-to-shake teenage nickname Johnny Cigarettes) before branching out to newspapers such as The Guardian and The Independent and magazines such as Uncut, Record Collector and, of course, Prog and Classic Rock.