Toronto's Little City: A Hidden Gem

Little City with Belgrave @ Clinton's 

  Exploring Toronto's music scene like any other major city's scene is to experience, the good, the bad, and the truly awful artists. But once in a while find a hidden gem, that you inevitably question how you hadn't heard of before.  Wednesday night's performance by Little City was the beginning of  Shattered Vinyl's love affair with Toronto's sextet folk-rock outfit. 

   Performing songs from their debut EP The Going And The Gone, Little City's sound is remarkably tight knit and instantly charming with their country twang tinged number 'Lincoln Learning French' featuring guitarist/vocalist Shaun Axani on banjo. The band's rich and layered indie-folk sound is most apparent on 'Bright Glow' arguably the strongest tune, in the group's set, showcasing vocalist Frances Miller's soft, warm vocals, meanwhile 'Rise Up' is an anthemic rock tune anchored in Thom Macfarlane's restrained yet powerful percussion, and Dave Clarke's energetic bass, not to mention a little hand clap chorus make for an enjoyable tune.
   The band's influences are easily recognizable from Bob Dylan to Fleetwood Mac as there is no shortage of storytelling or rich instrumentals to be found throughout their music. Most impressive is the band's live performance loses none of the charm found on the band's EP. Little City is first and foremost a live band and it shows.


Check Out Little City Here!

   Opening a set ahead of Little City were cohorts Belgrave, another great emerging band out of Montreal, their anthemic alt-pop/rock sound was a welcome contrast to their friends in Little City.
   Performing songs off their self-titled EP, the band's five members have considerable depth from Liam Boucher's glowing keys alongside Jonathan Powter (percussion), Michael Bufo (guitar) to the subtle strings of Catherine Cera (violin), Blegrave create lush, catchy melodies highlighting Trevor Boucher's vocals, which at times recall Morrissey of the Smiths. Their tunes like 'Tokyo' and 'Heart Strings' ranged from romantic to dramatic, while 'Six Minutes' with its larger than life chamber pop sound was the highlight of the set. 
   Belgrave's elegant alt-pop never got lost in reverbed guitars or static noise instead it was crisp and uncluttered, proving Belgrave is a buzz-worthy act that is well worth experiencing. 


Check Out Belgrave Here!