artist Little City

A band needs to know where they’re from in order to know where they’re going. 

Little City came from the close suburbs and not-as-close rural reaches of the larger Toronto area, forming in the heart of the city to merge the brains and hearts of their dense music and words into the sounds found on their debut EP. The Going and the Gone undulates; from historical figures as allegory told through classic folk textures to understated quarter-life power-pop unease, The Going and the Gone is rich in reflection, inspiration, and momentum.

Thom Macfarlane’s powerful, restrained percussion grounds Dave Clarke’s uplifting bass and provides the perfect foundation for Trevor Kai’s virtuosity on the keys (and accordion!) as he adds effortless elements of both exuberance and solemnity. The same can be said for brothers Jordan and Shaun Axani’s intricate, guiding guitar melodies, and of course Frances Miller’s arresting roots-tinged vocals, as her distinct whisper-turned-wail dynamics and warmth anchor the songs’ vast sound scope.

With a reverence and fascination for recreating classic pop sounds and their youth’s innate inclination towards current indie and folk structures, Little City lay conspicuous and skillful claim to influences ranging from veterans Fleetwood Mac and Paul Simon to contemporaries Wilco and the Arcade Fire. Having worked to perfect their songs with renowned Canadian producer/engineer Laurence Currie (Sloan, Hey Rosetta!, Holy Fuck), they’ve found an ally in his fine-tuned ear as he helped cultivate a sound that owes as much to the past as it does to the present—not unlike the sharp lyrical accounts of being tangled up in loss in the stark, stunning “This In Remembrance,” assembling scattered fragments into a life and home in the subtle melancholy of “Bright Glow,” and the elation of putting bygones to bed in the infectious “Rise Up.” Little City has already showcased their expansive sound throughout Ontario and into Quebec, and look to make their way further from home in the coming months.

The Going and the Gone, and Little City as a band, is an ode to the lost and the found, not only in music, but in self.