Jack Larkin Shares “Grandfather’s Axe” Single + Video | 'Purkinje Shift' Lp Out 8/21
The indie artist's forthcoming full-length album marks a significant new chapter in his musical journey.
Southern California indie-folk artist Jack Larkin has released a new single and accompanying video, 'Grandfather's Axe,' ahead of his fourth studio album PURKINJE SHIFT, due out August 21. The track draws on the Ship of Theseus paradox to explore questions of identity and change over time, themes Larkin says run throughout the full record. In a statement, Larkin described the song's protagonist as grappling with how much of themselves has been replaced through a process of change and what that means for who they are.
Larkin explains, 'Drawing from The Ship of Theseus paradox, the protagonist grapples with how much of themselves has been replaced in this process of change throughout the album and what that means for their identity.'
PURKINJE SHIFT is Larkin's fourth album. Much of the record came together during an intimate 2024 session in which he holed up in a cabin near Twin Peaks' Lake Arrowhead, pulling from his love of Daniel Rossen's creative tunings as well as the monastic flourishes of Nick Drake, Mort Garson's early-electronic synth fantasias, and the far-out psychedelic pop of Animal Collective and Olivia Tremor Control.
The album's title refers to 18th century Czech physiologist Jan Evangelista Purkyně. Thematically, it draws from the eternal cycle of change that one goes through in life, as well as the struggles to persevere through an uncertain world. 'As I was writing the album, there was a lot of change happening in my life,' Larkin explains. 'The album is about someone who's unable to see things clearly, experiencing the cycles of clarity and confusion that we go through in life.'
The record also marks a personal milestone for Larkin as a songwriter. 'This is the most personal thing I've ever made lyrically,' he reflects. 'In the past, I've beat around the bush with lyrics, but there was definitely a lot of change going on in my life when I started writing this record. Now, I have a great vision of where I am, the community I'm in, and what I want to do in life. But I was definitely confused for a time, and this album was a ladder to climb out of that with.'
The path to PURKINJE SHIFT began after Larkin graduated college and dove into scoring, production, and sound design. Working on others' music only further drove him toward creating on his own: 'I'd be wearing headphones all day at work, and then I'd get home and want to plug in the guitar.' His 2021 album How to Cook a Wolf was directly inspired by the cut-and-paste digital chaos of hyperpop, while The Wishing Well from 2024 found Larkin working within the world of library sync music. 'It was a fun experiment to write with pre-confined rules, but I also got tired of that really fast,' he explains. 'I wanted to do something more creatively expansive while still keeping the listener in mind.'
PURKINJE SHIFT Tracklist:
1. Afterimage
2. Scotopia
3. Matches and Oil
4. The Photographer
5. Cellini's Halo
6. Playing House
7. Grandfather's Axe
8. Stress Ball
9. Isn't It Familiar?
10. All Together, All Apart
11. Symphony of Light
12. Colorburst
Photo Credit: Christian Whittemore
Photo Credit: Christian Whittemore | Hi-res here
