LITTLE CITY

Toronto Folk Pop

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. Through classic folk textures and understated power-pop seamlessness, Little City aim to refine a craft that merges the brains and hearts of their dense music and words, steeping it 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—an expansive sound already showcased throughout Ontario and briefly into Quebec, and reaching further from home in the coming months.

Little City is an ode to the lost and the found, not only in music, but in self.

Tour’s done, summer’s begun

We survived! And so did our vehicles! And I don’t think anyone stole anything from us!

As far as first-time-East-Coast-indie-band-tours go, the aforementioned points basically equate success.

Everyone was very welcoming/helpful/friendly, and we met some people who we hope we’ll get to hang out with again. The kind people in Repartee and Oh No Theodore welcomed us to the East Coast and made us feel like we were old friends. The people who work at Plan B in Moncton may have very well been confused and thought we were old friends with their hospitality. The employees at Pickles in Sackville helped make sure the show and the evening was memorable. The grumpy bouncer in Halifax made us…well, at least made us feel at home by treating us no different than any other shitty local band that goes through his venue.

But thanks everyone for seeing us/talking to us/giving us fish and chips at discount prices.

And check out the following awesome bands/places:

Domestic Crisis Group

Plan B in Moncton

The Capital in Fredericton

The beautiful, tiny village of St. Andrews, NB

Now, we’ll be taking it somewhat easy for the summer, with members coming and going. Three of us are playing in Kitchener next weekend though. For the Pull The Plug live acoustic show!

Posted on Sunday, April 29th 2012