Sunday, October 17th, 2010
"Barracuda"
Sky Larkin covers Heart
Frank YangKatie Harkin can sing and she can play a hell of a guitar – these are things that Sky Larkin’s 2009 debut album The Golden Spike demonstrated quite handily, wrapping both of these qualities in exuberant, punchy pop tunes. As sophomore efforts are wont to do, this year’s Kaleide traded in a degree of the pep for thoughtfulness but still retained most of the vigor that make the Leeds trio so exciting.
But this cover of Heart’s classic “Barracuda”, recorded in a day and a half, as documented in this nice little making-of video, for Drowned In Sound, still comes as a bit of a revelation. On it, Harkin covers the parts of both Wilson sisters and does it with aplomb, using a range of her voice that hasn’t been explored much with Sky Larkin and really should – she sounds great up there. The song’s chugga-chugga riff and guitar harmonics are also impressively represented but the requisite ’70s classic rocking solo – which you know she totally could have done – is deferred in favour of a big-time horn breakdown and damn if it doesn’t sound great.
Kaleide was released in the UK in August and in North America just this month. The band are opening up for Blood Red Shoes on a North American tour that kicks off this week and hits the Horseshoe in Toronto next Wednesday, October 27. Heart released their first new studio album in six years in August, entitled Red Velvet Car.
MP3: Sky Larkin – “Barracuda”
Video: Sky Larkin / The Making of “Barracuda”
Video: Heart – “Barracuda”
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