Larrikin Love - The Freedom Spark

There is an ancient proverb that says ‘Never Be Good At More Than One Thing’. Er, well, there isn’t really, we just made it up. But, either way, it rings depressingly true – should anyone, anywhere have the temerity to be extremely good in the plural, rather than the singular, judgments like ‘pretentious twat’ inevitably come a-flying their way. A case in point are Larrikin Love. There’s a certain type of music snob that looks at their cherry-picking of punk, ska, and folk, sprinkled with knowingly literate lyrics, and sniffs derisively. If it can’t be pigeonholed, then it can’t be abided.

Which just goes to show that such music snobs, as per usual, are entirely missing the point. The brilliance of Larrikin Love lies in the very fact that they can imitate an astonishing number of reference points and, in mastering them, make something uniquely their own. Album highlight ‘Edwould’ is a gloriously earthy knees-up, while ‘Downing Street Kindling’ is political without being preachy, a testament to Edward Larrikin’s dislike of his home country that still manages to bring a smile to the face. Former single ‘Happy As Annie’ is a saga of rape and murder set to an innocuously jaunty ska beat, a typical Larrikin trait of mixing the tragic with the cheery. It’s something that they share with former tour buddies and best mates Mystery Jets and Jamie T, who pop up, unheralded, both in Larrikin’s live shows and on The Freedom Spark.

Larrikin Love might cast a far-reaching net, but they do so with passion and flair. Even with that haircut, they’re destined for greatness.