I first heard of Larry and his Flask about a year ago. I stumbled across a video of the group performing on a street corner in New York City. Their clothes were torn apart, they looked dirty, they performed to a crowd of about five people and they were playing as though they were in front of a sold out Madison Square Garden crowd. But the most important thing that I took from this video was the music. It was unreal. A perfect blend of bluegrass and punk. I was hooked, and I couldn't wait to see get my hands on the recordings they were promising in the near future on their website. The release of a wonderful three-song EP a few months later only fueled my excitement for their imminent first full-length album.
When I finally got my hands on All That We Know I was initially worried that the fast bluegrassy riffs might become dull and repetitive after a while. Luckily, they proved me wrong. The album is as close to perfect as it can possibly be. It features a few wonderfully quick songs, similar to the ones that I came to love on the EP. Songs like "Land of the Free," "Flags and Concrete," "Beggars Will Ride" and "Call It What You Will" will have you out of your chair dancing. Whether you'll be moshing or square dancing is debatable, but odds are it will probably look something like Sanka's dancing at the club in Cool Runnings. The album also features some great mid tempo tracks such as "I'll Be Gone," "No Life," "Ebb and Flow" and "Manifest Destiny." And of course there are some slower tracks like "Slow It Down," and "End of an Era" that seem to be perfectly molded for campfires and summer nights.
Overall, the album is just terrific. There isn't a single song that I don't enjoy. The album is perfectly mixed, and none of the many instruments seem to be buried. And one of the greatest things about this band is their ability to not only pull off the songs live, but pull them off with the energy that they bring to their shows. I really feel that this band will gain a huge following over the next few years, and in the mean time I will continue to enjoy All That We Know while I do everything I can to spread the word about this amazing group of musicians.
Best album of 2011, hands down.