Having toured since her teens, Katie Harkin‘s reputation as an in-demand multi-instrumentalist has seen her pass through thirty countries whilst writing and releasing three critically acclaimed records with her own band Sky Larkin. Her work garnered the attention of friends and fellow former Leeds dwellers Wild Beasts, with whom she worked across their Smother tour, and reverberated across the pond to urgent cult trio Sleater-Kinney, who recruited her as a touring member upon their triumphant return to the live stage. Most recently, Harkin has performed across North America with Jenn Wasner of Wye Oak‘s solo project, Flock of Dimes and across the UK with Low. Now, (as she unveils her debut solo project) the collaborator steps out as the singular, her new setup giving further platform to her idiosyncratic, muscular guitar-playing and revealing a body of work that is equally propelled by a life on the move and anchored by her romance for the North of England.
Dear Katie.
I miss you. I haven’t seen you in a few months now, maybe longer. Though you’re no longer living in some remote part of England known for its ovine-laden hillsides and is the embodiment of “craggy,” you still seem far away. Perhaps get yourself closer to an airport?
Oh, wait, you’re a nomad. And despite the fact that you now reside in the United States, it seems that your actual home is formed by a constellation of itineraries. Movement that adds up to routine, which creates consistency, until it mimics an almost tangible structure.
I guess what I’m saying is that when I listen to your new single, I hear the songs of an adventurer. One whose desires are split evenly—though not always seamlessly—between the allure of departure and the familiar refrains of return. The leaving behind and the rediscovery of people, places, and things. Whether it’s the curlicue guitar lines that reach and then resolve, or the way “Mist on Glass” collapses on itself at the end, undulating like both lullaby and mantra, these are songs that speak of interiority pressed against a changing landscape.
Love, CB
