Southern California’s addicting indie pop outfit The Little Ones just dropped its sophomore album. The Dawn Sang Along is both relevantly hip and nostalgically classic at the same time. The album brims with warm, 60’s inspired pop songs that offer gorgeous harmonies and dance-worthy rhythms. The Little Ones- Lee LaDouceur, Kevin Lenhart, Ian Moreno, Brian Reyes, Ed Reyes, Ryan Wilson- proves with its second record that the band only gets better with time. I was lucky enough to track down Ed Reyes and the talented artist kindly answer my barrage of questions. He opened up about adding electronic elements to the music, the progression of the second album, and the band’s love for California Burritos.
How do you like performing in Denver? Are the fans good to you? Does the altitude really have an effect on you?
We've had nothing but great times when we've played Denver. It's one of the best cities and has great fans. Yes, I've noticed the altitude especially when we've been drinking.
The new album is phenomenal. What was your goal with The Dawn Sang Along?
Our goal was to create a set of honest songs. We wanted to go back to the basics of what made us play music in the first place. It was also our goal to remind people that we were still around.
What kind of conscious efforts did you take to change/grow/progress the music on The Dawn Sang Along from Morning Tide?
We wanted to make sure that we were challenging ourselves as we began to write for this record. We had more time to write than when we were putting Morning Tide together. It was refreshing to have the ability to step away from a song and then revisit it.
The first single "Argonauts" is fantastic. What is the story behind the song? How has it changed over time?
"Argonauts" was actually one of the first electronic based songs that we wrote. It first existed in a demo I made. We tried tried recording the song with traditional instruments but it lost the feel of the original demo.
Are there any songs on the new record that you were initially weary about releasing, for one reason or another?
I think "Argonauts" was a song we were a bit apprehensive to release as the first single. It's not a departure from what we do but does contain elements that maybe people are not used to hearing from us.
What is the strangest thing to inspire a song?
I think California Burritos. It's one of our favorite foods from San Diego and always sparks a good time in the rehearsal space.
What's the most difficult song to play live, whether it's from a technical or an emotional standpoint?
I think any of the electronic tinged songs from the record are a bit difficult to pull off. However, I think we've incorporated pretty nicely now.
If you could have anyone in the world as the #1 fan of The Little Ones, who would it be and why?
George Harrison. He's always been my musical inspiration. Getting validation from him would mean the world.
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