Larry and His Flask-All That We Know
Silver Sprocket
June 21, 2011

This is only the second time that this has happened to me, and the first involved Bruce Springsteen. I was so amazed with Larry and His Flask's live set that I was worried that recorded material, regardless of quality, would leave me hanging my head in disappointment because it wouldn't live up to their live performance. After arguing with myself, I decided to pick up their EP, mostly due in part to its $1.99 price tag. It was okay, but not overly impressive. Then All That We Know arrived in my mailbox, and a huge sigh of relief pulsated throughout my body.

Larry and His Flask is a band that needs to be heard to be believed, but I'll do my best. They have a very old timey sound to them, spanning from the Americana Virginia mountains to the rough and tumble saloons of the Wild West. It sounds like they listened to all the Alan Lomax recordings and put them in a blender with the hard nose punk attitude and style that gives the music a kick to the ass. There are a ton of voices, a ton of backup voices and even more instruments (their web page lists ten instruments being played, but I wouldn't be surprised if they threw a few more in there), and everything fits in so well together. These songs are a lot of fun to listen to.

Looking back, I'm glad I saw Larry and His Flask live before hearing them on record. Listening to All That We Know puts a great image of them switching instruments, jumping into the crowd (while playing) and just giving the audience a great time in my head. That visual makes this album that much better, an album that was pretty damn good to begin with.

Written by: RF
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