Novillero's third full-length is their second released by Vancouver's Mint Records. There is something about A Little Tradition that surpasses the concise definition of tight power pop rock. The solid creativity in the construction of this music is both carefully produced and emotionally rich (hear the bridge in "Shadowboxing"). Lyrically, A Little Tradition looks at different dimensions of the unsatisfactory state of modern society. From the confinement one feels relying on a repetitive and uninspiring job ("Life In Parentheses") to the limitations of textual communication, "The Printed Word (Sucks For Inflection)," the album covers a wide area. "A Little Tradition" talks about how the world has changed, and being wholly unsatisfied by the changes. From Winnipeg, Novillero have been compared to artists from the Killers to the Who. A Little Tradition makes clear why. If not the same in musical sound they match those bands with the creativity and integrity found in their music.
(Mint Records)Novillero
A Little Tradition
BY Sarah FergusonPublished May 5, 2009