Album Review: Little Trips Takes You Down A Rabbit Hole with Downhill to Paradise
- Odilon
- Oct 27, 2021
- 5 min read
With this final frontier crossing debut album "Downhill to Paradise", out October 27th, Denver pair Little Trips wants to send a shock-wave your way. Strike down the mundane with this space rock journey and kick off your fall with this perfect set of far-out songs. Leave no trace in space but be sure to stop by whatever galaxy these three are from on the way.
Denver Colorado duo Greg Laut and Jason Paton started making music as "Little Trips" in 2020 with their musical influence coming from years of individual experience the the two earned individually throughout their career. With the name being a reference to the small journeys they both go on through the creative process of making music, the listener is transported to the vast reaches of the mind with their debut album "Downhill to Paradise".
“Creating this album was a strange juxtaposition between isolation and freedom,” Paton says. “We struggled to bridge the physical isolation and remote collaboration, but found confidence to reach out to peers that seemed out of reach previously to collaborate."
It's not hard to find these two bridging worlds already with previous mentions and reviews from outlets such as: Indie 88, Westword, Teal Cheese, 303 Magazine, Spill Magazine, Underlevelled, and The Daily Music Report. Being represented by Junkfood PR certainly has its perks and they more than live up to their name creating delicious finger foods out of your music, to serve them steaming hot to your listeners.
Greg and Jason worked tirelessly day and night over the course of a few years to co-produce "Downhill to Paradise" with Drew Vandenberg of Faye Webster, and Of Montreal at Chase Park Transduction in Athens, Georgia. with the rewards resulting in eight dazzling gems all bound on the same piece of fine jewelry. With Luat and Paton sharing the guitars, keyboards, and drum machine, they're able to have guest instrumentalists such as steel pedal player Pistol Soessel of Cracker, and Faye Webster.
With lead vocalist Greg Luat writing most of the lyrics, the album's form took shape in a representative way with its true meaning or message being that everyone is on their own pillage or path to an idealized destination or "Paradise". Yet, on the way, they find a part of themselves missing with a sensation of no longer being complete, whole, or at all the person you were before.
"The concept of Downhill to Paradise is that everyone is on a journey towards their own personal paradise; but to reach it, they lose some fundamental part of their being in life’s struggles,” Laut says. “Whether it’s working stiff slaving away through their youthful prime to relax in retirement in old age, or a person partying too hard and losing their cognizance to reach an altered state of mind, each of these characters goes downhill to reach their desired destination.”
From the light and tantalizing energy of "Pay to Play" the listener gets a feeling of oneness and awareness of their surroundings in a way that resembles the euphoria of having endorphins release in the brain. The sound of the spacey guitar effect combined with the synth of the keys in "Orange & Foggy" create a vibe that can only described as eating a orange cream popsicle on a sunny afternoon.
To put it simply "Inhale, Exhale, Joyride" will have you eyeing your set of keys, wondering if you have enough gas to make it to that favorite spot with your favorite tag along to spend a few hours out, enjoying what the day has to offer. Regardless of the season, sprinkle some Little Trips on your day and its a guaranteed good one. Catch "Downhill to Paradise" out on vinyl or streaming platforms October 27th, and don't miss the premier of their music video for "In The Margins" which marks the third music video release for the album. We've been told this one is a special concept video showcasing the duo's humorous personalities with a "fitness trainer" Luat stepping out from the realm of TV to haunt an uninspired Paton and kick him into gear, set to drop with the album. The groups astronaut mascot "Larry Fury", who picked up their tunes in space and shacked up with the band, is featured on their jaw-dropping cover art, It's also set to make an appearance at the groups album release party at the Larimer Lounger in Denver CO, November 3rd.
Clear Vision sent some radio waves their way a few weeks before their release.
Here's what Little Trips channeled our way:
Q: How long have you been making music? A: "While band members Greg Laut and Jason Paton have been making music in different projects over the years, Little Trips was just formed in 2020. The project originated when Greg took a few early demos to Jason to workshop them into full fledged songs. The duo hit it off and funneled this creative energy into writing songs together from scratch. The name Little Trips came from the vibe that each song being written felt like a world unto itself and that listeners would be able to take "little trips" into these created worlds."
Q: How did you create your newest project, “Downhill to Paradise”? How was it produced, where was it recorded, any other stories? A: The writing sessions for Downhill to Paradise had a spontaneous feel where songs would emerge quickly. For instance, the opening track “Pixie Pixel” was mostly written in one session where the duo started with a krautrock inspired drum and bass groove and began improvising lyrics and melodies on the spot. The album was recorded at the band's home studios in Denver and Boulder, CO. Near the end of the recording process, Little Trips linked up remotely with producer Drew Vandenberg (Faye Webster, of Montreal) to refine the songs. Drew then mixed the album at Chase Park Transduction in Athens, GA.
As production on the album was wrapping up, a portal to another dimension was opened in the Little Trips studio and a mysterious figure in a spacesuit emerged from the cosmos. His name was Larry Fury. Larry’s spacecraft picked up a faint signal of a Little Trips’ song, he followed the signal to Earth but busted his spacecraft upon landing. While he waits for his home planet to receive his SOS distress signal, Larry is crashing at the Little Trips studio. He’s bummed. Larry demanded to be featured on the Downhill to Paradise album cover, manages the band’s Twitter account, crashes their photo shoots, and appears at their live shows to dance and party with Earthlings. Despite their best attempts to make nice, Larry insists that he will never be friends with Little Trips.
Comments