Based out of Eau Claire/Minneapolis, Laarks is a band that features current and former members of Amateur Love, DeYarmond Edison, Land of Talk, Echo Bravo, The Softrocks, Laughing Bell, Sic Transit Gloria, and The Shouting Matches. Their debut album, An Exaltation of Laarks, was released March 13, 2009. They are looking to play shows in a town near you.
Their singer is a big-ass jerk. So is their drummer. The other two are varying degrees of tolerable.
Here's what other people are saying about Laarks:
"Irresistible. Strongly resembling now defunct Eau Claire forebears Amateur Love , and featuring the same dynamo drummer in Brian Moen, Laarks high drama electro-pop prominently features innumerable tasty keyboard textures, aggressively shifting rhythms and taut guitar work. Those still hoping against hope that Ben Gibbard gets around to making another Postal Service album sometime this decade might be better served by checking out Laarks, who may lack PS’ beats per minute but provide nearly as compelling a fusion of organic and electronic rock textures."
(Rob van Alstyne, Reveille Magazine)
An Exaltation of Laarks showcases not only the complexities of Jacoby and company’s songwriting, full of winding progressions and mood swings galore, but also an array of drummer Brian Moen’s intricate engineering skills... Songs start and end in a bath of guitar swells and muddled keyboard bleeps. Drums get run through layers of effects and filters, and vocal lines are harmonized and constantly shifting panels to attack from different perspectives. The 10 tracks fit together because of it, embracing the same artistic concepts and making the album feel more like a finished puzzle than separate pieces.â€
(Andrew Plank, Volume One Magazine)
"One band that shouldn't go without notice is Eau Claire's burgeoning art rock band, Laarks. I've seen them on two occasions, and they keep getting better. They're filling a void in Eau Claire right now, and you'd benefit yourself by checking them out. Think along the lines of Death Cab for Cutie with a more electronic backdrop, led mainly by keyboards. Plus, they added that cute extra "a" to achieve that "Scandinavian" effect. I wish I had more I could make fun of this band for other than an added vowel, because none of them go to school here and therefore could not beat my ass. But alas, I can't. They're good."
(The Spectator, UWEC)
" you are ugly and smelly, get a real job and put down the peace pipe you lazy stoners, Peter."
(Peter "moneymerge". After I called him a douche bag for trying to add us as a random friend on myspace.)