Album Review: Little Red – Listen to
We first brought original doo-wop punksters, Little Red, to your attention last week. We loved the Melbourne quintet’s retro sounds, and following on from our introduction to the band, Little Red’s people were kind enough to send over their new album for TGTF to check out for you today.
‘Listen to’ is cool 30 minutes of nostalgic, perfectly-crafted bubblegum pop. Vintage harmonies effortlessly bound from the speakers, taking you back to the days of swinging polka dot petticoats. Throbbing bass lines provide an underbelly groove throughout the record. The soulful lead vocals often cross into the territory of Little Richard. The jangly guitar hooks, too, are pure sunshine.
On top of all that, the raw, lo-fi production gives the album a real sense of authenticity. It’s as if you’ve just discovered an awesome 50s L.P at the flee market, except it’s 2009, and these are five modern day punks merely embracing retro doo-wop sounds.
‘Coca Cola’ acts as the album’s fantastical opener. Fuzzy riffs, hand claps and excitable “AWOOS!” make it a doo wop delight. Track two, ‘It’s Alright’ is similarly swinging thanks to it’s screeching blues vocals.
‘Fool’ is a cute attempt at a modern-day ‘This Boy’ by The Beatles. ‘So Long’ and ‘Autumn Leaves’ are, too, such fantastically cliché retro ballads, they makes me feel as if I’m at a school prom, with Danny Zuko as my date.
The upbeat ‘Jackie Cooper’, is a hilarious little ditty with splendid splatterings of brass. ‘Speedo’, meanwhile, is a evidence of Little Red’s modern day edge. A dry, bass-led number, the track is still comfortingly tainted by those classic Beach Boy harmonies. ‘She’s Not The Only One’ is too, a little more rough n ready, with the guitar riffs undoubtedly taking a note or two from Barrett Strong’s ‘Money (That’s What I Want)’.
To conclude, ‘Listen to’ is a fun little record. It’s nothing revolutionary, of course. Most of the tracks are minor rip-offs of the big records of the 50s and 60s, but so what? I love how Little Red have took the influence of these nostalgic numbers and reinvented it for a whole new audience in the noughties.
‘Listen to’ is released upon the U.K November 16th. Pre-order over at Amazon, now
One Response
20th October 2009
I can’t get over all this great new music coming out of Australia at the moment. Whatever next…the French making good rock or the Italians making good dance music?