Larkin Grimm is a singer and songwriter of dramatic, Appalachian folk-influenced indie fare that's difficult to label but consistently idiosyncratic. Born in Memphis, Tennessee and raised mostly in northern Georgia, she lived in a Holy Order of MANS commune until she was six. Afterward, she spent a lot of time around musicians at her father's music shop in Dahlonega, and as a preteen she sometimes rode her bike to higher elevations to get reception of a local college radio station. She went on to attend Yale on an art scholarship, where she met Dave Longstreth and soon became an early member of his group Dirty Projectors. Her brother, Joseph Grimm, was also making music by that time, under the alias Wind-Up Bird. Having started recording it while at Yale, Larkin released her debut album, Harpoon, with the Secret Eye label in 2005.

After relocating to Providence, Rhode Island, she followed it with 2006's The Last Tree. Word spread of Grimm's material, particularly among members of the freak folk movement including Devendra Banhart, and she signed with his label, Young God, for her third LP. Label runner Michael Gira of Swans co-produced the album, 2008's Parplar, which also featured labelmates Fire on Fire as her backing band. Grimm then parted ways with Young God, moved to New York City, married artist Master Lee, and became a mother before releasing more music. With production by Tony Visconti, Soul Retrieval arrived via Bad Bitch Records in 2012. She was picked up by Northern Spy for her fifth full-length. Featuring Visconti on bass and a breezier tone than her prior works, Chasing an Illusion was captured live in a recording space in Gowanus, Brooklyn and released in 2017. ~ Marcy Donelson, Rovi