Do you ever get cravings for music or bands in particular that will make you feel full of warmth and motivation? If you’re currently finding yourself in that spot, here’s my suggestion: Little City.
The Torontonian six-piece are fresh, dedicated and smooth. They will instill a calmness into your daily routine, but it will bring you up. It’s like you’re looking upon yourself, seeing what you’re about to do with your day, and finally deciding to give that gentle push that will not only knock the dust off the nooks and crannies, but give you an extra airiness to do with as you please.
The band establishes themselves to us with their first release: The Going and the Gone EP. In five songs, beauty flows out like a broken dam, the most preciously damned dam you’ll ever find. Frances Miller’s vocals are pure and totally on spot. She glides, she bounces, she soars. Along with her musical companions, Shaun Axani, Dave Clarke, Joel Dickau, Trevor Kai and Jordan Axani, they compliment each other in just the right amounts. The band is still gaining confidence around town, but you’d never guess from listening to this EP. Their bond bends unbreakable, and they are stronger for it.
The lyrics are one point that I really appreciate about this EP. It’s kind of speaking to a time that I’m in right now, but it also has enough to keep me guessing and at a distance that I can learn through. They’re not very clear, but that means you can adapt it to your wishes. Just even in “Bright Glow,” the opener and strongest, Miller’s chorus through the rolling blues guitars and piano is “So go lay low, and elaborate in stereo, to keep the streets that you bestow home, to say heyyyo, you’re only as bright as you can glow, on top of the Montreal Plateau, I’m home.” This song will be so hard not to sing along to, by the way, so be careful if in busy areas.
I can keep going on and on about this band. I’m looking forward to seeing more from them in the future. I saw them open for We Are the City a few months ago, but like Shaun said in an email to me, that was their second show and quite nervous. That explains things, as I remember loving their music, but thinking they needed to let go a little bit. My only other points that aren’t gushing is that at some points on the EP the banjo or the keyboards sound a little off from the rest. It’s not really noticeable if you’re just having your feel-good moment, that’s just me being a picky critic.
The Going and the Gone is for dreamers and practical thinkers alike. Let it splash over you in a moment of clarity or even under your feet, resting.
You can hear “Bright Glow” and “Rise Up” on their MySpace. You can download “Bright Glow” on their website: http://www.littlecityband.com/.
The EP will be released digitally this week.
thanks so much for introducing me! i’m in love with their sound.
-s.