The ever-soulful Son Little has returned with a brilliant new six song EP entitled Things I Forgot out this November 11th via Anti-.
The disc opens with “The River,” a seductive and ominous reconstruction of American blues infused with elements of hip-hop. Next up is “Your Love Will Blow Me Away When My Heart Aches” which Little describes as “Wu-Tang sea shanty with the Beatles on background vocals.” The slinky guitar groove of “Cross My Heart” bears haunting witness to departed friends, while “Joy” re-invents the cathartic soul ballad and delivers conclusive proof of Little’s vocal power. “Alice” is propelled by distorted guitar and raw simple drumming, offering an inventive and captivating mix of garage punk and psychedelic soul.
This is the first long-form taste of this exciting new artist after Littlepreviously turned heads earlier in the year with the slowburn single “Your Love Will Blow Me Away When My Heart Aches.” That single put Little on a lot of people’s radar, with NME calling the track “pure, heart-spilled-over-the-road soul”, and BBC Radio One’s Zane Lowe putting Little in his top tracks for the month.
Son Little (as Aaron Livingston) was born in Los Angeles to a preacher and a teacher. He absorbed songs from dusty family records and learned saxophone and piano. A move to New York introduced him to hip-hop, basketball, art, and recreational substances. A move to Philly introduced him to the legendary Roots crew, he played music with them and they put his voice on an album. He also collaborated renowned producer-musician RJD2.
He says he writes everywhere, every day, finding inspiration on the train, in a car, on the street, in the supermarket, with his children. Sometimes the ideas are fresh. Sometimes a tune comes from his past, a single spark. Nothing is off limits.
And now he has a chance to display the range and vision of his artistry, expertly demonstrating the threads that tie together the many strains of what we think of as “pop music.” From a Prince-like driving rock to a Curtis Mayfield sly groove, Son Little is an artist filled with all the internal mash-ups and contradictions that make American pop music great.
Son Little will be performing live at the CMJ festival in New York this month.
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