Dani Larkin - Next of Kin (2026)

I admire the ambition more than I actually feel the album. It clearly wants to build a large emotional and symbolic space, but too often it stays suspended in atmosphere instead of pushing toward something decisive.

The arrangements are beautiful, sometimes genuinely striking, but they tend to smooth everything into the same emotional register. I keep waiting for the songs to intensify or rupture in some way, and they rarely do. The album moves carefully, almost cautiously, which makes the emotional stakes feel distant despite the heavy themes.

There’s definitely craft here, and the world-building is stronger than on most contemporary folk records, but I don’t feel enough transformation across the runtime. A lot of it blends into one long tone poem rather than a sequence of moments with real cumulative force.

By the end, I respect the album more than I’m affected by it.

Pros

Strong atmospheric world-building → the Irish folk imagery and mythic tone create a vivid setting
Clear artistic ambition → the conceptual framing gives the album more intent than most modern folk releases
Elegant orchestration → cinematic arrangements add richness and texture throughout

Cons

Escalation never fully materializes → the album keeps hinting at emotional payoff without truly arriving
Too reverent and restrained → beauty dominates tension, which lowers emotional urgency
Melodic impact is inconsistent → many passages feel immersive in the moment but leave little residue afterward

Genre: contemporary folk
Country: UK

Final Verdict: 61% (Good Album)
Yearly Ranking: 278th / 395

Highlight: Love + Liberation


Made me think of:
Lisa O'Neill
Aldous Harding
Joanna Newsom

#newalbum #newalbum2026 #albumrelease #newmusic #albumoftheday #nowspinning #NowPlaying #musicdiscovery
#contemporaryfolk #DaniLarkin #UK
#LP #Album #release

 

Previous

Next