The Little Ones

It’s easy to overlook so many bands that warrant the grouping of words like "indie” and "pop” — there seems to be an epidemic of them. So it’s nice when one of these bands have the pizzazz to stand out amongst the rest. The Little Ones, from Los Angeles, sound like they get a lot of sun at home, but the rays they’re soaking in sure seem to be working. These are bright, sunny songs they’ve written on their debut EP, fittingly titled Sing Song. There’s also some kind of kinship to the Shins that’s undeniable. Jesse LeDoux, the same artist who did Chutes Too Narrow, provides some cute, bubbly artwork, which automatically ignites a musical resemblance. The Little Ones don’t sound like Albuquerque’s sons but they shape their exceedingly hooky songs similarly, with sweeping melodies, unexpected rhythms and yummy handclaps. In fact, a better association would be Phoenix, as singer Ed Reyes sounds frighteningly like Thomas Mars on "Face the Facts,” and the sparkle of album highlight "Lovers Who Uncover” could very much have found a home on that French band’s It’s Never Been Like That. This song in particular is what makes this primer such a valuable acquisition; it’s rare to find a track this pleasing. But it won’t sink them as a one-hit wonder. "Cha Cha Cha” shows some scope with nice rhythmic shifts and "High On A Hill” proves Reyes has the chops as a vocalist, soaring up high in the register without falling back on a falsetto. The Little Ones are bound to be big.