steering clear of the mainstream
since 2001

june 2010

review
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info opinion

Little Wings

"Light Green Leaves" CD

K Records

Genres: indie pop, alt country

K Recs
PO Box 7154
Olympia, WA 98507

Mar 24 - 30 2003

Following his amazing Wonder trilogy (Discover Worlds of Wonder, The Wonder City, and Wonderue), Little Wings' Kyle Field could have taken a little rest or something to celebrate what he had accomplished.  But instead, the brave songwriter decided to jump right into another trilogy - Light Green Leaves.  Unlike the Wonder series, the Light Green Leaves set came out all at once; there are three versions of LGL - on CD, vinyl, and cassette - and each one is different.  If the CD version is any indication, this looks like it could be the better of the two trilogies.

With a bare-bones, DIY pop style somewhat akin to labelmate (and occasional collaborator) Phil Elvrum (The Microphones), Little Wings composes simple, endearing nuggets that are guaranteed to find a place in your heart.  It's somewhat alt country, somewhat lo-fi, and somewhat folk - but always original.  On most tracks, you've just got the guitars, the vocals, and sometimes the drums, so the sound is pretty minimal.  Highpoints include the catchy "Fall Flood" and the deliciously beautiful "Look At What The Light Did Now," the latter of which is an impossibly hummable small classic.  "III" is another fantastic tune, with a very delicate, endearing sound - Field's wonderful vocals are magnificently emotional.

Altogether, Light Green Leaves is a beautiful album that deserves to be heard.  Although I can't comment on the other two parts of the trilogy, this album works just perfectly on its own.  My suggestion?  Buy a copy, and then if you enjoy it, venture on the rest of the series.

90%

Fun Fact: I never noticed this before, but K Records couldn't snatch www.krecords.com before Kaleidoscope Records had already reserved it.  As such, they settled with www.krecs.com.  Kaleidoscope, meanwhile, had to settle for www.krecords.com because ANOTHER Kaleidoscope Records had already took www.kaleidoscoperecords.com!

Matt Shimmer

[Vitals: 12 songs, distributed by the label, released 2002]