“WE'RE A VERY RIFF DRIVEN BAND”

For sisters Rebecca and Megan Lovell, the creative nucleus of Larkin Poe, the best songs come from riffing, natural chemistry, and playing cover versions as a way to raise their own game

- Jonny Scaramanga

There was a time was when live albums were critical releases in an artist’s career. B.B. King secured his reputation with Live at the Regal. Frampton Comes Alive! was issued to every child born in a US suburb in 1976, and while casual listeners thought they knew James Brown from his radio hits, hardcore fans found the real stuff on Live At The Apollo. Nowadays, live albums tend to be stop-gaps if they’re released at all, but Larkin Poe’s Paint The Roses, a live collaboration with the Miami-based orchestra Nu Deco Ensemble, is a major moment in their development.

“With the lack of touring due to Covid, we were able to really expand creatively and try some new stuff,” explains guitarist/vocalist Rebecca Lovell. Her sister, lap steel specialist Megan, picks up the story: “We were slated to go play with Nu Deco in Miami and it was meant to just be a one-off Livestream. They collaborate with a lot of different artists, and we were going to be their roots pick for the season. We checked out their stuff and just really loved the way that they were able to interpret people’s music with the orchestra. We ended up going down to Miami and had one day of rehearsal before the show.”