Posted on: January 14, 2009 Posted by: anfnewsacct Comments: 0

“Tarots and Arrows” is a hooky type of track that is influenced both by the British and American pop of the sixties. What individuals will immediately hear bits and pieces of in this introductory salvo by Little Man is Fountains of Wayne; while not from the time period described above, the application of current musical approaches and styles to the earlier musical style is similar in both bands. “Don’t Pray To Fantasy” is a track that could easily have been on a Beatles track; the guitar work, slightly more gritty and alternative sounding, is the only tip off for listeners that Little Man is an act that is working in 2008 instead of 1963. Little Man does with a number of tracks on “Of Mind and Matter” what Oasis strove so hard to do during the mid nineties: make an updated bit of Beatles-infused pop that spoke just as well to current music fans as it would to fans of the earlier London scene.

“Everyone On The Floor” has a much more current type of sound than any of the previous tracks on “Of Mind and Matter”. The inclusion of a harder type of rock to the mix makes for a track that could easily stand its ground against works by The White Stripes or The Black Keys. Of the earlier tracks on “Of Mind and Matter”, the track that stands out the most would have to be the slower, more down-tempo “Talisman”.

While the precursor sound to the grunge revolution is present here, the falsetto achieved by Little Man’s vocals adds a little more in the way of harmony to an already unforgettable type of track. The amount of different tempos and approaches taken by Little Man during “Of Mind and Matter” should be enough to showcase the fact that the band should not be pigeonholed into any specific genre constraints, and that listeners should not have expectations about what the rest of a Little Man album should necessarily sound like. Whether or not you are a fan of the styles I have mentioned here, if you have any love for a hard-working and great-sounding independent act, it would be the best to check out Little Man, and to purchase a copy of “Of Mind and Matter” as soon as you possibly can.

Top Tracks: Talisman, Together On The Long Way Around

Rating: 8.5/10

Little Man – Of Mind and Matter / 2008 Eclectone / 12 Tracks / http://littlemanwhatisay.blogspot.com/

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