Straight outta Melbourne, Australia, with 3 lead singers fighting for every note over 4 part harmonies & skin-tight primal rhythms, Adrian Beltrame (Guitar, Vocals), Dominic Byrne (Vocals, Guitar), Quang Dinh (Vocals, Bass), Taka Honda (Drums) and Tom Hartney (Vocals, Percussion) are Little Red.
They are the hottest all singing, all dancing incarnation of the quintessential rock ’n’ roll band, simultaneously both classic and anachronistic in a way that’s guaranteed to generate excitement.
Rather than stealing inspiration from the ‘book of cool’ this 5-piece cut to the chase in a pure style they jokingly refer to as ‘doo-wop punk’. They maintain almost exclusively iconic influences, from a palette of Springsteen, Radiohead, early Elvis, Dylan, Sam Cooke, Nick Cave, The Beatles, and Lou Reed, as well as the more obscure gospel and doo-wop references that become apparent from listening to their fierce vocal passion, delivering the beauty and tension of musical emotion in a ragged and raw expression.
Formed from a core of childhood friends and named after a song from the canon of Chicago blues legend, Willy Dixon, which reached no 1 in the UK via a cover from The Rolling Stones, Little Red’s sound is remarkable: at once familiar and totally new.
Their Australian heritage has allowed them to be influenced by the classic British and American artists, but together with Melbourne’s D.I.Y. ethic, the isolation of living on the world’s largest island has promoted unique development away from prying eyes. The wide-open landscapes of their locality encourage the same wide-eyed world conquering ideas that spawned the long-gone power of the original Americana, now replaced by more corporate populist cynicism. Their sound represents a back-to-basics rawness, where everything you hear is the sound of recording live in a room. Like The Strokes & The Shins at their most influential, they deliver a dual quality of referencing timeless classicism with the urgent modernity of youth.
The band’s moves are increasingly garnering attention in their homeland, from winning Australia’s 2008 ‘Garage To V Festival’ competition, to touring with Vampire Weekend, to selling 40k albums and counting of their self-released debut album Listen To. For the big World outside Australia, we are delighted to be the band’s home and look forward to the impending release of a newly re-mastered, international version of their debut – complete with a revised track-listing and updated artwork.
Listening to Little Red, you’re reminded of all the good things in life. As you dance like no one’s watching, and sing with your best bathroom gurgle in an attempt to recreate the essential quality of the band, one thing’s for sure, it’s hard not to smile.
