This fall, Larkin Poe will be back in France for five shows! A perfect opportunity to look back on Bloom, their latest album, which we discussed with them earlier this year.
This is the first post-Grammy record you’ve made. Was there any pressure working on this follow-up, knowing that so much was going on around the Grammy win?
Rebecca Lovell: It’s so nice to win a Grammy. And now that we’ve won one, we don’t feel like we have to win another. So I think that, luckily, removes a lot of pressure. We’ve been describing it as a confidence boost, and I think that’s exactly what it was. It felt like a cosmic nod of approval, a sign that we’re headed in the right direction. So it gave us more confidence to keep following our instincts when we were writing for Bloom. I’m grateful for the Grammy win, clearly on a lot of levels.
What did it bring on the business side of things? Were there new opportunities? You’re an independent band, you have your own label, you work with a small team, etc. For example, were you contacted by a major label wanting to sign you?
Rebecca: I think it’s had a really positive impact. Being able to say you’re a Grammy Award-winning band is wonderful-it’s great to put that on tour posters and it definitely raises awareness.
Megan Lovell: I think we’ve all committed to being independent. So we don’t even know if any labels have approached us. That’s just not on our radar.
Is there anything you’d like to experiment with in your music-whether in writing or in collaborations? Maybe you’ve already done some, maybe others are still waiting.
Rebecca: With Bloom, we really changed our writing process. Historically, Megan and I didn’t write much together. Usually, we’d each come up with ideas separately, then bring them to the studio and stitch them together as we went. But for Bloom, we co-wrote everything. All the songs were co-written by Megan and me, or with our co-producer, Tyler Bryant. And I think that was a huge turning point for us, unlocking a lot of growth as a band. I’m really excited to see where that takes us moving forward. In terms of collaboration, we love working with other people, and for the next record-beyond Bloom-collaborating with more female artists would be really exciting.
Megan: Have you ever heard that the key to happiness is always having something in the mail to look forward to? I think the musical equivalent is always having an idea in your back pocket that you can’t wait to record. And we do have many ideas for the future-like: “Okay, when the timing’s right, we’ll do this“. So there’s a lot we’re looking forward to.
You mentioned co-writing more together-did you really feel that evolution?
Rebecca: Yes. Big time.
In what way? Melodies, structure?
Rebecca: Both. I think our songwriting has really leveled up on this record compared to past ones. The melodies feel more unique, more memorable. The lyrics are also closer to our own experience. We’ve tried to tell the truth as best we can with this album. Not that we didn’t before, but I think this time we were much more courageous in sharing our firsthand experiences with listeners.
A quick word about “Easy Love Pt. 1”. Apart from the little Eiffel Tower with the hat, there’s also “Pt. 2”, and both are really different. But they’re called part one and two. If you think of, say, Metallica’s “The Unforgiven”, parts 1, 2, and 3 all share a similar vibe. But here your songs are very different and not direct follow-ups in the albums narrative. Why is that?
Megan: Why not? Why not? (laughs)
Rebecca: Originally it was just “Easy Love”. But during the writing and recording process-since we recorded at home, very informally in Tyler’s and my basement studio-something unexpected happened. One morning, while we were working on “Easy Love Pt. 1”, we started playing around with an alternate version by accident. We sang the same words but with a completely different melody, and it started to sound really cool. Tyler and I thought, “Wow, this actually feels really beautiful-like a very classic, timeless melody“. We showed it to Megan. The verse lyrics were very personal to me, but I said, “We’ve got to write a different chorus-what are we going to do? We can’t have two “Easy Loves” on the record“. Megan and I tried and tried to write other lyrics, but nothing felt as good. So eventually we said: “Well, this is what the universe wants-it nudged us in this direction“.
Megan: And then it felt right. Because “Easy Love Pt. 1” is about the beginning of a relationship, while “Pt. 2” reflects the deepening of a relationship. It’s more serious, more somber. It’s not puppy love anymore-it’s love that’s been tested, abiding love.
So there’s no official title track on this album, but the last song, “Bloom Again”, clearly connects to the title. Interestingly, it was one of the first tracks you started working on, but it ended up as the closer. When listening, it feels like the earlier songs are the first bloom, and then with that last one, you “bloom again“. But since it was the very first song you wrote, that’s a little paradoxical. How do you see it? Or how do you feel about our interpretation?
Rebecca: I love that-that’s a beautiful way to put it.
Megan: Sometimes you don’t realize what you have until the whole record is written. And that song at the end feels, at the same time, both incomplete and complete. It’s like blooming again-it closes the record, but also hints that maybe there’s more to come. So thematically, it really works. And the fact that it was the very first song we wrote makes it feel… meant to be. Looking back, it all feels very fated.
Rebecca: And when we first wrote it, it didn’t have the outro. That came later. We were in the studio, the song ended, and Megan said: “It’s not over yet“. So we tracked it again and added the outro. It really grew into being the perfect closing track for the album.
And did you already have the title “Bloom Again” at that point?
Rebecca: We did.
And how did you come up with the name Bloom, knowing you also had “Bloom Again” later on? (laughs)
Rebecca: Thematically, Bloom just felt right for these songs. When we were writing them, we weren’t consciously trying to create an album with a central theme, but somehow all the conversations and streams of consciousness flowed together. Since the songs were written in such a conversational way, there’s this natural thread tying them all. Having a title like Bloom describes where we are both in our career and in our lives-in our early 30s. In America we have this saying “being a late bloomer“. It means finding yourself a little later in life, which is better late than never. So we’re happy to have made this album and to see the changes it’s inspired in us.
Lyrically, the album is not only about storytelling but also about self-challenges. How did you find the balance-while also being more vulnerable in your writing?
Megan: That was our main commitment: to be more vulnerable. And it came together pretty organically. Like Rebecca said, most of these songs came directly from conversations we were having. We’d sit down with coffee, talk, and that would often lead to a song. The next day, one of us would say: “Hey, remember what we were talking about yesterday?” and the conversation would continue-leading to another song. So naturally, the mix of themes and emotions just reflected what we were feeling at different moments over the course of a month.
At this point in your career, do you ever hold back from trying certain things in the studio-even if you’d like to? Could we imagine a more drastic evolution in your sound one day, or just new directions?
Rebecca: Quite possibly. The future is unwritten. One thing we do well is being open to change and willing to evolve. We’re learning not to think too far ahead, because if I project too much into the future, I can get overwhelmed-or I just don’t have the imagination to see that far. So instead, being very present, waiting for inspiration, and trusting that the right idea will arrive has been a really positive shift. So whatever comes next, I think it’ll happen spontaneously.
Megan: I’m not sure Larkin Poe would ever make a full-on synth pop record. (laughs) We’re too attached to our guitars. There will always be a certain earthiness in what we do.
You know, maybe not synth pop-but what about something heavier, more overdriven?
Rebecca: A little heavier, yeah.
Megan: Maybe, yeah. I could also see us going the other way-stripping back and making another bluegrass record. Who’s to say?
With all these new songs alongside your older albums, building the setlist must be getting trickier.
Rebecca: Yeah, it is.
Do you already have an idea of how you’ll balance the past and the present?
Megan: Honestly, no. That’s actually our task once we’re back home-heading into rehearsals. We really have to sit down and build a show, which is exciting but also nerve-wracking. Especially since so many of our songs are special to people. But it’s also our responsibility to keep moving forward. That’s the challenge—deciding which songs stay and which ones get left out. Last time, we actually asked fans to vote on their favorites for the setlist. And we did listen-when we saw a lot of love for deep cuts like “Stubborn Love”, we knew we had to play them. So maybe we’ll do that again.
Some bands choose to perform an entire album live after its release. Could you imagine doing that someday, or would it be too complicated with your catalog?
Rebecca: I don’t know. I’d love to play as much of this record as possible. I think we will end up doing a lot of Bloom on the headline tour-especially since it’s the Bloom Tour. Feels like maybe we can get away with it.
You’ve collaborated with artists like Ringo Starr and Billy Gibbons. Were those dream projects, life goals, or just unexpected opportunities? Do you have a “dream collaboration” list, or do you approach them differently?
Megan: They’ve all been very welcome collaborations. We’re always open to whatever comes our way, but we haven’t actually sought out that many. The one exception is that my dream was always to work with Emmylou Harris. I used to say: “I’m putting it out into the universe-we’ll do something with Emmylou“. And now it’s coming true: we’re actually doing a show with her in March, just the two of us with Emmylou. That’s a big one for me. But beyond that, I really try to just welcome whatever opportunities come across our radar. Sometimes it’s better not to have too many expectations, because then you might be disappointed. Letting things happen naturally has worked really well for us.
Rebecca: Don’t make a Christmas list-Santa knows what you want.
Megan: Exactly, Santa will bring it.
So what would be the ultimate dream collaboration?
Megan: Honestly? Emmylou Harris. Truly. Let’s see how it goes.
Tell us about your radio show American Girls. What do you do on the show, and how fun is it to run something like that?
Rebecca: It’s been a real learning curve, figuring out how to be DJs, because it’s such a different format from anything we’ve done before. But we’ve loved it. Learning how to put a show together, how much to talk, and how to create a theme-it’s been really rewarding.
Megan: At first, we were way too chatty. They told us we talked too much! (laughs) So we had to learn how to say what we wanted in just a few words between songs. But the big thing for us is themes-we love themed shows. For example, the last one we did was all flower-themed, in celebration of Bloom.
Rebecca: Yeah, so we played Dead Roses and a lot of Rolling Stones-it was sick. It’s fun because we can program whatever genres we want. They’ve given us a lot of creative freedom, which is exactly what Larkin Poe requires. And we’re very grateful for that.
With the Grammy win, more media exposure, radio, TV… how are you handling that compared to a few years ago? Has your day-to-day life changed much?
Rebecca: Honestly, I don’t perceive a huge difference. But I do feel grateful that our journey has been such a slow burn-it’s given us time to adapt gradually. I definitely wouldn’t use the word “fame” for what we do. That’s never been a goal. Our goals are: to make a living, to connect with people through music, to make the music we want to make, and to keep learning from it all. We want to keep growing, spiritually and personally, so life feels easier. We want to learn from our mistakes, from our art, from this whole journey. Of course, there’s stress and pressure in being busier, but we’re handling it well. And because everything is temporary, I try to keep perspective. If you’re having a great time-cherish it, because it won’t last forever. If you’re having a hard time-don’t worry, that won’t last forever either. That duality has been a big lesson these past few years. Even this press tour-it’s hard work, it’s overwhelming, but it’s also a moment to cherish.
Megan: The biggest adjustment has been learning to say no. We can’t do everything that comes our way anymore, and it’s hard deciding what to turn down. But we’re figuring it out.
And finally-do you have a mantra you live by?
Rebecca: On this trip, one I’ve been repeating is: “Everything matters less than you think“. Whether it’s a big deal or a small deal-breathe, relax, it matters less than we think. I also like to remind myself of “555“-will this matter in five seconds, five minutes, five hours, five days, five months, five years? Usually not. So let it go. Move on. And remember, everything is temporary.
Megan: Mine is “This too shall pass“. And that’s not just for hard times-it’s for good times too. Remember to fully enjoy the good moments, because they’ll pass you by if you’re not present.
Website : larkinpoe.com
