By way of clarification, only the vinyl is signed. Not the tee. The tee is unsigned. But they are both still awesome.
We love The Little Ones around here (read: here and here), so we're pretty excited to announce that they're heading back out on tour with Brett Dennen (check out the schedule here). And to celebrate, we're giving away a prize pack, including the afore-mentioned signed vinyl copy of their album Morning Tide, and an (unsigned but still awesome) tee shirt.
To enter our little contest, just write us a comment below with your email address (please!) and your favorite Little Thing. Anything goes, as long as it's little, and it's your favorite.
Also check out The Little One's live acoustic sessions on Daytrotter and LiveDaily. Fantastic!
UPDATE: Congrats to kimmi and roann, our Little Winners! Thanks for reading!
So we've been waiting for a good long time for an actual full-length album from LA's The Little Ones. After two ep's, some label switching, and a lot of touring it was starting to feel like we'd never get one from these guys. So you can imagine our excitement when we were lucky enough to get ahold of a copy of their brand new record entitled Morning Tide, due out in the U.S. on October 7th (if you're lucky enough to live in the UK, it's already out - go buy it right this instant).
So after listening for a week or so, I can frankly say that I love this album. I'll just put that right up front. Now, Logan and I don't consider this a critical site - we don't review things so much as we recommend them - our philosophy is "I love this and I think you should love it too". So in that vein, I'm recommending the Little One's new album to you as something you should love too. It's hand-clapping, bell-ringing, feet-shuffling pop perfection, with fuzzy upbeat guitars and lyrics so sing-along-able it's probably a crime. Overall, their delivery is a little more restrained than before - not any less upbeat - just more restrained. The songs possess a little more maturity, giving the impression that they're not in any great hurry to get to wherever they're going - instead taking their time as they lead us through their bouncy melodies and sing-along moments.
Below I've posted Morning Tide's eponymous first song because I think that it's a perfect example of what you'll find on this album as a whole. It opens with the Casio flute-like keyboard line (just one of the many pleasant little sounds they've got stuffed up their sleeve) bouncing along underneath some sugary doo-doo-ing vocals. As the verse starts to roll out we hear the guitar part meandering around the higher notes and the drums and vocals push ahead. A shouted 'la la la la la la!' leads out the almost anthemic chorus "By the shore I'll be waiting for you/Morning tide I'll be waiting for you!" all before collapsing into a hand-clap/drum-beat breakdown through the middle. Then, after the last round of the chorus it's back to the doo-doo's and Casio-flute keyboard bit for a finish that's just so satisfying you might just find yourself... well, smiling I think. At least that's been my experience. The Little Ones make me smile. Quite literally.
So there you have it. The first song is pretty much a microcosm for the pop pleasure that there is to be had on this whole record - lots of fun sounds and singing, choruses that beg to be sung along to, poppy breakdowns, dance-able upswings, and grand finale's that are just plain fun. And though this may not be the album that gets the hipsters swooning, I can fairly promise that it will be the one that gets you smiling. It got me, anyway.
Last Saturday at Kilby Court was an example of everything that is right with music: Small venue, small crowd, but an extraordinary amount of energy. The Little Ones were, of course, incredible. Everything I could have hoped for and more*. (*More = Announcement that their long awaited full-length album will be out this summer and they performed two tracks from it which only amplified my longing for that album.) If you missed it (and most of you did, we'd have known, there were only about 50 people at the show) don't worry, they hope to be back this summer or fall. Don't miss it. (That is a command.)
But it was Ra Ra Riot who made the evening. I knew I'd love The Little Ones, but I had not prepared myself to fall in love with another band that evening. The energy was out of this world. All six band members were on this tiny stage and it was something to behold, partly because with both a violinist and cellist on stage it took some pretty fine dancing to avoid those bows taking out an eye or worse. They all seemed to be having the time of their life on stage, like they just sincerely love making music with each other, and it was contagious. The whole crowd couldn't help but fall in love. It was just plain fun. Good old fashioned concert fun.
And by the way, happy birthday to Mathieu Santos! Thanks for giving the gift of rock and roll!
I heard about The Submarines a year or so ago when some very good friends saw them open for Josh Ritter in LA. They said that they were awesome. I had a few songs, and yes, they were awesome. But I never really got too head over heels for them and I'm not sure why.
Well I might just be trying to fill that boy/girl duo void for another two weeks 'til Mates of State's album comes out, or maybe I'm just a real sucker for this kind of indie-pop, but I've finally fallen for the Submarines (AKA John Dragonetti and Blake Hazard) - and I've fallen hard.
The LA couple has a new album coming out this Tuesday (May 13th) called Honeysuckle Weeks, and let me tell you again - it is awesome (I also just checked and it's already available on iTunes). This will mark their first album to be completely written and recorded together - their debut album was actually written separately while the two were broken up and then recorded after they got back together. Lucky for us they're still together and going strong - because these are awesome songs. Or did I mention that already?
We all make fun of Idaho (I know I did/do) but when I think about Boise I have only the fondest things to say. It was in Boise's Record Exchange that we found some precious musical gems, not the least of which were the Moonbabies (who we've posted about) and the lovable The Little Ones.
The Little Ones aren't from Boise or Idaho, they're from Los Angeles. I mention Idaho because with their help it made the drive back home seem to fly by, and if you've driven southern Idaho, there isn't really much natural beauty to gaze at, so thanks Little Ones. Our good friend purchased the Sing Song EP for some ridiculously small amount. In terms of enjoyment versus financial investment, easily one of the best deals I've seen in my lifetime.
They're kind of like the Shins and they're kind of amazing. Infectious.
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By way of clarification, only the vinyl is signed. Not the tee. The tee is unsigned. But they are both still awesome.
