ABSOLUTELY STUNNING
“An absolutely stunning guitarist, easily on a par with Bonnie Raitt, Larkin matches her instrumental chops as a vocalist and songwriter, making her a true triple-threat artist. (Red = Luck) is a paradigm of literate, compelling songwriting, augmented by high production values.”
– Billboard
BRILLIANT
“Red = Luck is a bold work from an even bolder artist...truly brilliant.”
– Sing Out
TEXTURALLY RICH
“With her 10th album, Red = Luck, the Milwaukee-born and Cape Cod-based songstress shows that she still has a lot to say. The album radiates with a texturally rich conglomeration of Middle Eastern, Celtic, and pop influences.”
– Boston Globe
**** 4 STARS
“Singer-songwriter Patty Larkin has seemed incapable of releasing anything but stellar albums over the past decade, but Red = Luck is something truly extraordinary. Larkin's exquisitely inventive guitar work, literate and passionate lyrics and soaring, captivating arrangements defy all your existing folk music expectations. This is her most mature and wide-ranging collection of songs to date. Red = Luck = brilliant.”
– Detroit Press
ABSORBING
“Larkin subtly and colorfully orchestrates her musings, relying on her gifts as a multi-instrumentalist to help turn Red = Luck into what it is clearly meant to be: an absorbing listening experience.”
– Washington Post
BEAUTIFUL
– Vanity Fair
COMPELLING
“Red = Luck sums up all that's intriguing about Larkin's supple, sensual style. Her aching yet seductive vocals take center stage, buoyed by atmospheric arrangements that create a dark, haunting yet compelling effect throughout. Larkin knows how to undercut her emotions with passion and purpose. With the arrival of Red = Luck Larkin's lucky break out to come at last.”
– Entertainment News & Views
MUSIC THAT DEMANDS
“Red = Luck displays the kind of creative risk-taking rare among mature recording artists. Larkin's musical adventures shouldn't be confused with forced trendiness or artificial hipness... Not just a fine songwriter or virtuoso musician, she combines her talents to create music that demands your attention with great melodies and lyrics that mean something.”
– Vintage Guitar
***
“Evocative vocals, warm tunes and subtle sonic shading including low-key ambience and Middle Eastern melodies.”
– Rolling Stone
METICULOUS
“Patty Larkin always distinguishes herself with meticulous musicianship... Red = Luck is a perfect spin for the long spring thaw.”
– The Phoenix
AN INSTANT CLASSIC
“A direct hit. Absolute perfection. This is one of the best albums we have heard by any artist...in any genre...at any point in time...EVER. ...an instant classic.”
– babysue.com
RIVETING
“Patty Larkin is one of the most gifted performers in music today. Alone with her guitar, Larkin rocks as hard as many bands... keeping a relentless beat, accented with taut, Celtic-influenced ornamentations. A remarkable guitarist, an imaginative and versatile vocalist, Larkin turns in a riveting performance.”
– Chicago Tribune
STRUM-BEAT
“Larkin is genre-stretching, string popping alterna-folk.”
– Guitar World
TOP TEN
“A virtuoso guitar player and mood-shaper. These songs capture what it means to be completely adult, the bad and the good, without regrets or sentimentality. ...Ms. Larkin sings them in a smoky, slightly weather-beaten voice that resonates with a plucky resignation and humor. She is also a superb slide guitarist whose mature work is comparable to the best of Bonnie Raitt and Lucinda Williams.”
– The New York Times
A COMPLETE PERFORMER
“Patty Larkin is a complete performer. With a commanding, slightly smoky voice, Larkin captures the very essence of her magnificent songs and backs them up with accomplished, crackling guitar playing.”
– The Albany Times Union
UNIQUE SONGWRITER (Cover Feature)
“Patty Larkin is one of those unique songwriters who has an inherent fascination with the guitar, engrafting Celtic, rock and even some country into her folk roots - providing a refreshing landscape for anyone donning a pair of headphones to listen to one of her albums.”
– Finger Style Guitar
A GREAT RECORD
“An intmate, vibrant record that showcases Larkin's acoustic chops and strong vocals. She skillfully mixes Celtic, rock, folk, blues and funk. Effortlessly veering from percussive slaps to lush harmonies, Larkin conjures hammered-dulcimer lines, harp-like harmonic licks and freaky slapback-soaked grooves from her six-string.”
– Guitar Player
21ST CENTURY CHAMBER MUSIC
“Larkin creates a sound that draws on both her folk-music roots and modern pop-enthusiasms while allowing her literary lyrics to make themselves felt. It's an unorthodox sort of string band which hints at Appalachian roots, even as it suggests 21st century, amplified chamber music.”
– Washington Post
WILD PERFECTION
“Patty Larkin transmits eccentric magic with taut, amused gems delivered in a rich alto. An uncommonly articulate guitarist, she has evolved into one of the finest self-accompanists anywhere in popular music. She plays with a remarkable palette, from sobbing little finger patterns to tight power strums that crackle like live wires on wet pavement. She has also grown into one of the finest architects of song in folk-pop. She writes with a deep intimacy but in ways that let everyone climb inside and claim ownership of her songs.”
– Boston Globe
A WINNING COMBINATION
“Patty Larkin writes mysterious songs, plays a mean guitar and mandolin and has a voice like a wry angel.”
– Atlanta Journal-Constitution
“Larkin's ardent voice is the tour guide on a musical and emotional journey. The performances are dead-on, and the songs are like snapshots in an old photo album where every picture tells a story.”
– VH-1
URBANE AND INSIGHTFUL
“Involving...muscular...urbane and insightful. She uses the guitar as much for percussion and motion as for harmonic support. Wisdom, musicality and ability combine to continually delight and surprise.”
– The Wall Street Journal
DROP-DEAD BRILLIANT
“Imagine a drop-dead brilliant guitar player, a richly textural singer, a commanding, poetic songwriter, a hilarious and personable entertainer. Now imagine all of these virtues in one person. There you have Patty Larkin. Fellow performers are often seen at her shows, shaking their heads in admiring wonder at an elaborate guitar lick or sighing vocal trill, a particularly well-tuned lyric line, a perfectly delivered comic line. She is that rare talent who is seen as a songwriter's songwriter, a guitarist's guitarist and a singer's singer and a performer's performer...”
– Performing Songwriter
HYPNOTIC
“Larkin returns with a studio album of her trademark instrumentation and sampled backgrounds. This is strong, cerebral stuff...”
– Entertainment Weekly
DAZZLING FINGERWORK
“Patty Larkin is an excellent guitarist, relying on rich, open tunings and blurry-fast arpeggios with dazzling fingerwork... Larkin breaks the bounds of predictability in concert with unabashed humor...”
– San Francisco Chronicle
GRACEFUL FOLK-POP
“Graceful folk-pop that alternately recalls the dreaminess of k.d. lang, the detached coolness of Sheryl Crow and the self-conscious hipness of Rickie Lee Jones.”
– Stereo Review
ONE OF THE BEST MUSICIANS ON THE PLANET
“Patty Larkin is, quite simply, one of the best musicians on the planet. Her concerts are don't-miss events. Larkin combines great singing with excellent songwriting and skilled guitar playing to create a haunting sound of her own.”
– St. Louis Post-Dispatch