Sky Larkin
‘Kaleide’
(Wichita)

It must be such an exciting time to be involved with Wichita Recordings. Celebrating their 10th year, they have a streak of supporting bands that embody their independent, hard-working ethos; particularly Leeds trio Sky Larkin, whose second album is somewhat of a revelation.
Upping a gear from their appealing debut ‘The Golden Spike’, the guitars have more bite, the drumming is ferocious. ‘Still Windmills’ and ‘Spooktacular’ pack relentless punches, while they prove capable of balancing this with heart-on-sleeve delivery: ‘Anjelica Huston’, in particular, allows Katie Harkin to access her emotive potential with dextrous wordplay.
They stick to a format in the final third of the album, but what’s wrong with that when the songs are so good? Play loud and repeatedly.

Euan Davidson