Music
Press
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. - 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. - Volume One Magazine
This is one of my favorite albums of 2009, but Laarks combine all the best things about Ben Folds sense of humor and the simplicity of Spoon’s best work. Though the album is far from simple, and holds much more than a flat comparison can possibly provide. An Exaltation of Laarks is a fantastic debut album from a band that has my heart in a ziplock bag. - InDigest Magazine
"An Exaltation of Laarks" ... boasts both bracing immediacy (in the slightly strangled tenor of frontman Ian Jacoby and the barbed-wire tones of guitarist Kyle Flater) and well-mannered melodies (Jacoby's tasteful keyboard textures and Brian Moen's dynamic, precise drumming). The group's tight weaving of electronic and organic rock textures comes off, at times, like a street tough's take on the Postal Service, and it's easy to envision similarly massive success if the right breaks come their way. - City Pages
The band's debut album, An Exaltation of Laarks, is a sunny collection of pop gems reminiscent of Mute Math and Death Cab for Cutie. It's nearly impossible not to bob your head to the frantic, frazzled energy of "The S Stood for Science" or be swept up in the momentum of "All the Words You Can't Say Right." By contrast, "Where Do You Wanna Live?" is a simple and refreshingly upbeat ballad that is sweet without being sickly sentimental. - Jonk Music
"An Exaltation of Laarks" listed at No. 18 on Amazon's "Outstanding '09 Albums You Might Have Missed" list - Amazon.com
Discography
"An Exaltation of Laarks" - debut full-length, released Nov. 3 2009 on Absolutely Kosher Records
"Hark! The Herald Angels Sing" released as a single on hardtofindafriend.com's 2nd annual "Peace on Earth" Christmas charity compilation (2008)
"All the Words You Can't Say Right" from "An Exaltation..." has been played on Minneapolis radio stations 89.3 The Current and Cities 97, and was included on a Mpls charity compilation called Hope Rocks.
Photos
Bio
From Eau Claire, WI, Laarks may be good friends of Bon Iver, but the sound is decidedly different. With a heavy keyboard base (as many as 3 at a time), frantic drumming, epic, jarring guitar melodies, and driving bass, Laarks create highly energetic indie rock electro-pop songs with hooks galore. They've written extremely listenable indie rock gems, pushed and pulled into dynamic, emotional statements, taking cues from a variety of artists like Death Cab for Cutie, The Killers, Spoon, Ben Folds, The Weakerthans, and Wilco. Taking internal control and perfectionism to their limit, Laarks not only write and record their own material, but they do all their own print and web design, and even screenprint their own t-shirts and posters.
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