An Exaltation Of Laarks

Laarks (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (November 3, 2009)
• Original Release Date: 2009
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Absolutely Kosher
• ASIN: B002PAD2LW
• Also Available in: Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #531,186 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Air Contains a Charge, December 5, 2009

By 

J. Marrin (Chicago, IL) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: An Exaltation Of Laarks (Audio CD)

An Exaltation of Laarks comes across with a fresh and raw energy that is uncommon in today's musical landscape. It is one of the few albums I've come across in a long time that has really demanded I sit down and listen to it in its entirety... songs play into one another and feed off each other making the album feel like more of a statement than any of the individual songs themselves. Laarks' emotional energy may be a turn off to some but for me it really struck a chord and added to the whole experience. Musically they remind me of bands like Tokyo Police Club, Death Cab for Cutie and even, briefly, Sigur Ros. Definitely an album to check out and I can't wait for more from these guys.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Stunning Debut, August 16, 2010

By 

Gavin B. (St. Louis MO) - See all my reviews

This review is from: An Exaltation Of Laarks (Audio CD)

The Laarks debut album, "An Exaltation of Larks" was released in November 2009 with little fanfare by the small California independent label Absolutely Kosher. "An Exaltation of Laarks" could still gain acknowledgement as a straggler on 2010 "best of" lists and has yet to find large audience, here in the dog days August 2010. "An Exaltation of Larks" hasn't gotten kind of buzz that will create a larger audience for this sublime album. Pitchfork Media wrote a respectful but subdued review that praised the album but also noted that the Laark's musical enterprise is homing in on "00s indie rock moments that somehow feel increasingly distant." Those "00s indie rock moments" invite comparisons of Laarks to touchstone indie rock band such as Wilco, the Strokes, Spoon, Broken Social Scene and Death Cab for Cutie. To hell with Pitchfork's pronouncements, it's a pretty decent peer group of musicians for Laarks to fall out of fashion with. Those avatars of early 00s indie rock will be around long after Pitchfork Media's shelf life has expired.

Laarks is Eau Clarie Wisconsin's best kept musical secret. Eau Claire is a suitably wholesome Main Street American town, 90 miles due east of Minneapolis, and like Minneapolis, Eau Claire has similar -20 below zero temperatures while in the grip of northern Wisconsin's icy winter season deep freeze. Cabin fever can drive a good man to the brink of madness, on the other hand, cabin fever can inspire a unique form of madness that sparks the creative imagination of a talented musicians who spend the winter months cooped up in a rehearsal space, with nothing better to do than master their musical skills. Maybe that's why "An Exaltation of Laarks" sounds so musically accomplished for a debut album. Far from being musical novices, Laarks have spent the past ten years hibernating in the wilds of Wisconsin honing their musical skills and developing their own fully articulate creative vision.

The Laark's singer Ian Jacoby has an appropriately world weary but expressive voice and has carved out his own unique trademark vocal style. Jacoby does double duty as Laarks' organist. Brian Mohen is a muscular drummer who plays on 70 year old drum kit that was manufactured prior to the advent of the Swing Era of jazz. Mohen's drumkit from the Paleozoic Age of popular music is pretty impressive trivia even for an old war dog of the music scene like myself. Mohen is also the album's producer and he apparently learned his way around a recording studio at a young age. Brian Mohen has the dispassionate judgement of a seasoned producer who knows exactly a band should sound like in a recording studio, even when he's also the drummer for the band. The quartet is rounded out by Kyle Flatter on guitar and Zach Hanson on bass. Each player is attuned to the constantly shifting musical panels that reframe the primary theme of each song by introducing abrupt changes in the tempo or the musical texture of each song. The 10 tracks on "An Exaltation of Laarks" each stand on their own superlative musical merits but also contribute to an album that is a finished puzzle rather than separate pieces. Every song is a musical jewel that has been cut and polished by the band with precision and care.

NOTABLE SONGS: "What God Hath Wrought", "The S Stood for Science", "You Know They Do", "Look Out!", "Harrison Bergeron" & "Microphone Ghost