Too much of a good thing?
'The Freedom Spark' is Larrikin Love's debut album, much anticipated by the fans they have built up in their native London and beyond. The four-piece have already released three CD singles, 'Edwould', 'Downing St Kindling' and 'Happy As Annie', all of which being included in this release. The most recent of these singles, 'Happy As Annie' has been heavily played by the BBC's indie online/digital radio station, 6 Music, and as a result many more listeners have become excited about the album release – the question therefore must be: does it live up to the hype?
Larrikin Love's press release asserts that 'The Freedom Spark' is an album in three parts (although whether this will be made clear in the packaging of the release is uncertain). The opening part, entitled 'Hate' contains all three of the band's previous singles, beginning with an instrumental 'Intro' and new track 'Six Queens' before 'Edwould'. 'Six Queens' is a good choice for the first full length track, with a catchy sing-along melody, a strong beat and plenty of jangly guitars; not to mention lyrics such as 'I've got secrets trapped in my fishnets' and 'I broke society with a lipstick shot', that are certain to hold appeal for indie scene kids everywhere. 'Edwould' swiftly follows, with slightly of a folk influence to the guitars and pace. Although slightly quieter overall than the preceding track, this little ditty is very much a song to dance to, whether at a gig or around your kitchen when you should be doing the washing up.
The rest of the 'Hate' section continues along the same line, with 'Happy As Annie' being the clear stand-out track, with a bouncy beat and a confident joy to its tune (if not to all its lyrics). 'Downing St Kindling' is a slightly quieter track, and rather reminiscent of mid to late 90s Brit-pop in style. Of all the album, it has the strongest lyrics, with a tone and sentiment that harks back to The Smiths' 'The Queen Is Dead' as singer Michael Larrikin expresses sentiments such as 'So I will burn a fire in Westminster using the door of Downing Street /And when Tony rushes out complaining of a draft I'll let him warm his feet'.
The album's middle section, 'Fairytale' is composed of one track alone: 'Fell At The Feet Of Rae'. A slower track than those of the previous section, it isn't easy to like or even enjoy. The singer's voice doesn't suit the ballad feel of the rest of the song and the pace is somewhat disjointed, without being interesting. Fans of the energetic singles are unlikely to appreciate this track at all and may well find themselves reaching for the skip button.
Thankfully the album soon enters the final, four-song section, 'Freedom'. The tracks here are similar in tone to those of the 'Hate' section, although a little more upbeat and a tad less in-your-face. By this point however, Larrkin Love start to sound a little like a one-trick pony, and it's easy to wish for a little respite from the jerky beats and constant guitars. Unlike the songs of the opening section, those of 'Freedom' are rather indistinguishable from each other and the formula seems to have grown tired. Neither of the final two tracks, 'Forever Untitled' and 'A Burning Coast' could be called ballads (although they are slightly more downbeat than the two tracks before them) and thus the album comes to an abrupt stop after the final track, with no warning or rounding off.
Larrikin Love are a little less forgettable than many of today's Artic Monkey/Franz Ferdinand sound-a-likes; with a little touch of energy and originality and no hint that they would like to cross into the mainstream charts. The band employ a variety of instruments and write witty lyrics; but in order to be truly special they need to widen their range, and if 'Fell At The Feet Of Rae' is anything to go by, they're not going to find that easy. Larrikin Love are a great singles band, and would be fun to see live or dance to at a club, but over thirty minutes of their unvarying sound on CD is rather nauseating.