By Bryen Dunn
Image – Bryen Dunn
They’re neither little, nor girls, but Toronto’s Little Girls are starting to create a big buzz on the indie scene. What began as a side project on a whim has quickly morphed into recognizable stature with accolades from leading international music aficionados, and opening slots alongside reputable headliners, such as Monotonix. Lead by the druid vocalist Josh McIntyre, they are yet another Toronto sensation from a city that seemingly breeds sonic youth.
McIntyre mentions listening to No Age and gaining inspiration from the raw sounds they were creating, and decided why not. From there he dug back a few years further and took a liking to the lo-fi predecessors, Artery, and chose to put his own spin on their tune “Heinz”. All of the recordings on their debut release “Concepts” were done at night at a home studio in his basement.
McIntyre is also a member of the Pirate/Rock duo, from which he took a short hiatus to put together the initial recordings for what would become Little Girls. The quirkly name was chosen because it would most likely keep his identity unknown, which apparently was not the case. He cites his influences as 70’s/80’s no-wave/post-punk/hip-hop, and there are obvious comparisons to Joy Division, Jesus and the Mary Chain, and Wire. The distorted sounds give a somewhat haunting, yet soothing massage to the ear drums. Plug in, lie back, and enjoy. When listening to the infectious lead single and video “Youth Tunes”, it’s nearly impossible to tell this was recorded in 2009, and not 1979.
The rest of the band consists Andrew Wilson on guitar, Joseph Roth on bass, and Anthony Gerace on drums. Catch them live on tour with You Say Party We Say Die and various guests. November dates include Windsor (18th), Waterloo (19th), Toronto (20th), Sudbury (21st), Winnipeg (25th), Saskatoon (26th), Edmonton (27th), Calgary (28th)
More Info – www.paperbagrecords.com, www.myspace.com/littlelittlegirls
Free Download – www.paperbagrecords.com/mp3s/LittleGirls-Heinz_Artery_Cover.mp3
Other Listens - www.myspace.com/arterysheffield, www.myspace.com/nonoage, www.myspace.com/pirateslashrock
Youth Tunes Live Video Recordings
Horseshoe Tavern – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tPojJvHju-Q
Sonic Boom - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QtrhgtFCyW4