The Little Ones

The Little Ones is an indie pop band based in Los Angeles, California. They were previously signed to Astralwerks Records and released one EP on that label, titled Sing Song. In 2006, Matt Costa invited them to open for him at the Bowery Ballroom in New York City, which has brought them in a rise to fame. Unfortunately they lost their recording contract early in 2008, shortly after releasing a new single, "Ordinary Song", and were forced to postpone their upcoming album. Instead they released a new EP on Branches Recording Collective, entitled Terry Tales & Fallen Gates. On 28 July 2008, The Little Ones finally released their debut full-length, Morning Tide, on Heavenly Recordings. This was preceded by a new single of the same name the previous week. The Morning Tide album was met with generally positive reviews and received especially high praise in the UK weekly NME magazine.

The Little Ones' indie pop tunes, which feature tambourines and handclaps, have garnered them comparisons to 1960s pop bands such as The Beach Boys, The Zombies, The Kinks, modern-day pop group The Shins,^[1] and the Elephant Six collective.^[2]

History

Before Ed Reyes and Ian Moreno formed The Little Ones, they had been in an indie rock band called Sunday's Best. The following is an excerpt from The Little Ones' website about the history of the band:

The Little Ones quickly realized that their only weapon against reality was their imagination. They embarked on a radical experiment: to see if they could convince themselves that everything was going to be all right. They spent majority of their nights holed up in their studio affectionately named “Uncle Lee’s”. There were many songs written and many songs abandoned. At times, they felt their muse had left the building. Still afraid of the world outside, they adopted a “just write and don’t tell anyone policy”‚ that lasted for more than a year. As the experiment grew longer and longer, they grew weary that they could no longer follow the path they started on. One by one, each of the Little Ones wanted to stray. A new barometer needed to be set. They came up with Uncle Lee’s Rule of Feet. The rule stated that a song was deemed appropriate if, and only if; each of the Little Ones’ feet could shuffle. Once they adopted this new rule they began to realize what they had right in front of them."^[3]

Style

The Little Ones' style has been reviewed in the Guardian, "The Little Ones are capable of freakishly infectious guitar pop. Elsewhere, they sound like twee US indie kids doing karaoke versions of Magic Numbers tunes".^[4]

Discography

Studio Albums

• Morning Tide (July 28, 2008 UK)

EPs

• Sing Song, EP (Feb 12, 2007 UK)
• Terry Tales and Fallen Gates, EP (April 2008)

Singles

• "Lovers Who Uncover" (Nov 13, 2006 UK - EMI) 7", limited edition of 1000, featuring "Lovers Who Uncover" and "Cha Cha Cha".
• "Lovers Who Uncover/Oh, MJ!" (remixes) (Feb 12, 2007 UK - Heavenly) 12" Promo featuring the title tracks and remixes by Stereolab, Zongamin, and Crystal Castles.
• "Oh, MJ!" (Jan 29, 2007 UK - Heavenly) CD, featuring "Oh, MJ!" and "High On A Hill", UK Singles Chart #100 (physical sales only - #29).
• "Lovers Who Uncover" (May 28, 2007) - re-release UK Singles Chart #133 (9/6/2007)
• "Ordinary Song" (Jan 21, 2008 UK - Heavenly) CD and 2 X 7", featuring "Boracay" and "A-O (There's A Sun)" UK Singles Chart #98 (27/1/08)
• "Morning Tide" (July 21, 2008- Heavenly)- Digital Download and 7" also featuring "I Don't Want To Dance"

Notable Achievements

• They performed live on Seattle, Washington radio " station KEXP on July 29, 2006,^[5]
• KEXP featured their song, "Oh, MJ!," as its song of the day^[5] on November 28, 2006.
• NPR have featured The Little Ones' song "Lovers Who Uncover" as their song of the day.
• They supported popular British rock act Kaiser Chiefs on their UK Arena Tour along with We Are Scientists during the last few months of 2007.

Trivia

• The band is named after Ed's two dogs, which are Pugs.^[4]
• Due to an administrative error, the digital single of "Morning Tide" released to online stores was actually an un-named remix scheduled for release at a later date. The original version of the song was posted on the band's MySpace page the following day.
• The band are fans of Queens Park Rangers FC. On the 6th of September 2008 the band appeared on Sky Sports Soccer AM and stated that they had watched QPR play Burnley and were committed fans. They were presented with a signed QPR shirt by presenter Helen Chamberlain.

References

1. ^ Pop Matters Now Hear This | The Little Ones
2. ^ Welcome to Rough Trade Shops
3. ^ littleones.com/about
4. ^ ^{a b} No 1: The Little Ones | Rock | Guardian Unlimited Music
5. ^ ^{a b} KEXP Blog » Blog Archive » Song of the Day - The Little Ones

External links

• Official Website
• Official Blog
• The Little Ones at MySpace
• Morning Tide Review
• PopMatters mini-bio and review of EP
• Ordinary Song Review
• Video: Little Ones Perform New Song

Interviews

• The Scenestar - September 2006
• Interview at Rocklouder
• Interview and performance on Spinner
• Interview at The Land Salmon