METAL HAMMER
ROCKSOUND MAGAZINE
http://www.exacteditions.com/exact/browse/413/464/2482/3/92
TERRORIZER MAGAZINE
www.rockmidgets.com
Having kicked up a storm in their native Portugal and now signed to UK label Mother Should Know, Larkin are more than ready to set their sights further afield with their introspectively-themed but moshpit-igniting album Every Living Day Begs The Question. If the question was "who loves Refused?" it would be no surprise to see their hands raised, the Swedish legends' influence is audible across this album, but thankfully Larkin avoid sounding like a tribute act through the sheer ferocity and passion with which the material is delivered.
Tracks like 'A Creative Context' and 'Motive' come across with an intense urgency, and segues between songs use interesting tactics; from pick scrapes to skipping vinyl to a squeaky gate. Most surprising of all, however, Larkin don't sing in their first language. It's a method that often makes a band sound cumbersome and insincere (Listen to both versions of Rammstein's 'Du Hast' and try telling us the English version even compares!), but Every Living Day... loses none of its ferocious impact in English.
There isn't, however, much variation. Though the inter-song elements are a nice touch, they often only serve to separate indistinguishable tracks. And though the odd guitar lines and rhythm-tinkering originality of the likes of Alexisonfire springs to mind, Paulo's vocals don't quite veer from the Dennis Lyxzén-esque scream often enough to give Every Living Day... the full impact this promising European act deserve.
Rating: 3/5 by Phill May
www.subba-cultcha.com
Larkin
Every Living Day Begs The Question
Mother Should Know Records
Deft Dischord tinged debut from Lisbon quartet
Larkin's debut for Lockjaw Records imprint Mother Should Know Records hits like a ball hammer to the frontal lobe. It's a record of accomplished Fugazi-isms fused with the harder edges of bands like Refused that stands up to anything coming out of the UK or the States right now.
Led by the frenetic, lacerating vocals of Paulo who indulges in vocal interplay with bassist Ricardo, Larkin trade in atmospherics, taking you from a crushing dissonant assault to lilting, eye of the storm passages that allow you to catch only one breath before they are off again. Opener 'A Creative Context' opens with a solemn bass driven stomp then launches in with a double time staccato call and response riff that explodes into a riotous cacophony when Paulo enters to shred his vocal chords over the top.
Fleshed out by Ivo on guitars and fuelled by some spectacular hardcore drumming by Hugo that would have Mr Grohl breaking a sweat, Larkin trade on energy, 'Every Living Day Begs The Question', is a record that physically impacts upon you. Tracks such as 'Motive', 'By The Leash' and 'Inject Some Blood' will definitely turn on fans looking for some post-hardcore workouts with a rockier edge. The latter track particularly has some more straight up rock moments with the slow building lush intro that gives way to ATD-I style dynamics.
Overall 'Every Day…' is a highly accomplished debut that delivers as much on the first play as the 20th. On this evidence the alternative music scene in Lisbon, and Portugal in general, is looking very healthy indeed. If you like bands like Attack! Vipers!, Fugazi, Refused or Hell Is For Heroes you need to pick up this record and keep your diary free for when Larkin hit the UK.
4/5
www.alternativevision.co.uk
Larkin - Every Living Day Begs The Question
Portugal seem to be breeding a lot of alternative bands recently and the four piece band Larkin are another band from Portugal that are hoping for success across the world with their debut album 'Every Living Day Begs The Question' just finished and ready to be released on the 7th May through Mother Should Know Records in the UK.
'Every Living Day Begs The Question' is a record that is full of energy and a lot of noise. The album starts off with 'A Creative Context', which opens with a heavy assault of guitars, bass and drums with Paulo's screamo noisy vocals sitting nicely over the top. The song has a lot of musical breakdowns that you just couldn't predict.
The heaviness of 'Retrospect' will probably appeal to a lot of people, the song is pure noisy with a few mellow breakdowns before everything picks up again with Paulo's vocals sounding louder and angrier than ever. Same with the heaviness of 'He Image' with its fast guitar playing and fast vocals to match.
Not everything on the album is hectic and noisy such as the toned down 'Motive', which features really toned down guitar playing, quite listenable vocals that do verge on screamo for about 10 seconds before backing down again. 'Foreword' is a slightly average instrumental track and provides a break halfway through the album.
The highlight on the album for me is track seven, 'Signs Of Liberation' which features some great shout-a-long vocals where Paulo nearly forgets to come up for a breather over some constant heavy drumming, great stuff.
Larkin make good music but the problem is that they are making similar music to so many bands around at the moment and I think they are going to find it hard to stand out from the rest of the bands and lead the pack, but are still an interesting band, check them out if you get the chance.
3/5
www.rock3.co.uk
Larkin - Every Living Day Begs A Question
Larkin play the type of explosive rock that provides unbelievable experiences at the live gig and physical wracking relief at all other times, with all knobs twisted to the stop Larkin allow the reverberationto sonically vibrate your very skeleton. Larkin are from the northern part of Portugal of Viana do Castelo and this eleven track album comes spiked through with introspective thoughts and passionate reliefs. The band sing in English allowing a wider exploration of passions. Displaying a wide range of riffs and melodies the album displays the bands ability to be more then one one riff wonders.
DEAFSPARROW.COM
http://www.deafsparrow.com/Larkin-Review.htm
For all those that cried wolf when Refused decided to hang up its political agenda, for all those whose winds receded in knots when the flames of discontent stopped getting fanned, for all those that shed a thousand and one tears of sadness when Refused stopped being the force with the promise to shape punk, for all those that slit their wrists with a butter knife when they heard the throwback, vintage sound of the International Noise Conspiracy because they thought it was too pussed out, not punk enough and lacking musical discontent, for all those who thought the raw pipes of Dennis Lyxzen would go to waste in singing instead of yelling, and for all those that well…are in desperate and dire need of a new record by Refused, well, here is the next best most Refused-sounding band. It's not Swedish, it actually comes from northern Portugal, the city of Viana de Castelo to be more precise.
But they are pissed enough. Or at least they sound like it. Larkin play the hardcore or the punk, and I guess we could safely say, they do it Swedish style. Matter of fact, Larkin sounds so much like Refused is almost embarrassing. Even the timid forays into jazz that were audible and quite public in Refused's milestone The Shape of Punk to Come are here similarly laid, at ends and starts, in the middle and sparsely peppered throughout. More obvious than all, Lyxzen's raw throaty (there should be a school of vocalists named after him) has invaded, or we could actually say, have possessed vocalist Nuno Teles. It's blistering stuff, I just wished Larkin had more of a proper identity and a sound that they could at least for a second call their own. It helps that Every Day Begs the Question is not a bad record by any stretch of the imagination. On the contrary, there is no filler in these eleven songs; while the guitar sound careens and shakes and agitates like a boiling snake; the band keeps plenty busy trying to reach a sound that is too much praised by all.
ONDAALTERNATIVA.it
http://www.ondalternativa.it/modules.php?name=Reviews&rop=showcontent&id=1291
"Every living day begs the question" è un album oscuro, ma molto carico, che stupisce per il modo intenso con cui entra in testa, trasmettendo un profondo calore emotivo.
Lo stile del quintetto britannico ricorda per alcuni tratti band culto della scena crossover, fra cui gli italiani "Linea 77" , ma spesso si distacca dai canoni del genere per esplorare nuove situazioni musicali, facendo veramente storia a se.
Le parti suonate si muovono verso la calma e la continua ricerca di emozioni, generando atmosfere di grande stile, i cantati a loro volta riportano alla dura e brutale realtà metal, in un continuo di ambiguità mai casuali: "A creative context" assieme a "Retrospect" sono una evidente manifestazione di quanto detto fino ad ora e probabilmente le tracce simbolo di questo lavoro.
Personalmente sono rimasto colpito dai suoni, che ritengo veramente ben dosati e miscelati fra loro: mi stupisce come in fase di masterizzazione i tono piuttosto acuti e riverberanti delle chitarre siano stati fatti coincidere perfettamente con le voci, a loro volta acide, senza alcuna sovrapposizione.
Comunque la marcia in più è sicuramente fornita dalla sezione ritmica che emerge soprattutto nelle parti suonate e che in maniera semplice e mai ridondante accompagna i vari pezzi, in maniera sapiente. Come altre band sotto MSK o Lockjaw Records, anche i "Larkin" sembrano godere di quella libertà, che permette loro di manifestarsi in maniera stupefacente su album, senza dover sottomettersi a regole eccessive.
Sarà per questo che fin dal primo impatto questo disco suona perfettamente, senza intoppi intermedi. Per precisare, messo su ad alto volume il suo livello aumenta vertiginosamente, perché è possibile riscontrare delle piccolezze veramente molto fini, delle sfumature, dei suoni elettronici di fondo che come un collante tengono ancora più uniti tutti i pezzi, fornendo lati nascosti e veramente pregevoli di questa formazione.
L'unico neo che è possibile riscontrare è una lieve acerbità della band, che la porta alla ripetizione, ma per il resto penso proprio che non gli si possa obiettare niente.
Un 7 di entusiasmo, Mr.Osh.
Aggiunto: 22-05-2007
Recensore: mr.osh
Voto: 
