Music
Press
As befits a band who's had a U.K. hit dueting with Peter Doherty (on the sublime single "Their Way"), Littl'ans is no stranger to chaos. Its last British tour saw gigs canceled thanks to, amongst other things, an exploding gas canister and a double booking with 80s legend Echo and the Bunnymen. When it supported Babyshambles, it was subjected to the indignities of the rubber glove treatment after the bus it was travelling on was raided for drugs by the police. (The band was later released without charges.) Yet, Littl'ans, whose name is Cockney vernacular meaning "Little Ones," soldiers on gallantly. After all, in rock and roll the chaos is part of the deal. Five in number - singer and guitarist Andrew Aveling, drummer Ben, guitarist Alex Mahood, surname-free bassist Aarron, and tambourine player Ronnie Joice - Littl'ans has a convulted history. Aveling used to be in electro duo Add N to (X), then an East London band called The White Sport with guitarist Patrick Walden and drummer Adam Ficek, until Peter Doherty pinched both Walden and Ficek to form Babyshambles (Doherty's guest vocal on "Their Way" was his way of repaying the debt to Aveling). These days, Littl'ans erractically traverses the country playing doo-wop-influenced pop with the dazed, dark charm of a Syd Barrett or a Nick Drake. It's suprisingly delicate music for such a hard-living band - but then romance often exists in squalor."
words by Alex Needham, deputy editor at NME magazine, with photos by Hedi Slimane.
- V Magazine, issue 40, Spring 2006
Monday, October 03, 2005
DRAWING the biggest crowd of any support act in recent memory at the venue, The Littl’ans showed themselves to be more than capable of giving it the big’un to an inquisitive audience.
The East London quartet have quite a package to offer them at the moment too.
In Andrew Aveling they have a frontman with matinee looks and a shared band history with Babyshambles duo Patrick Walden and Adam Ficek. They also boast a feisty sex kitten on bass who knows how to hold her own and finally a forthcoming single featuring non other than Pete Doherty’s dulcet tones.
Spurred on by the tight unit behind him, Aveling’s likeable conversational delivery reminded me of Badly Drawn Boy, while on the How Soon Is Now-tinged Everytime, his love of those other Mancunian favourites The Smiths was obvious.
Further examination at closer, more intimate quarters is definitely recommended. - Manchester Online
Littl’ans are the new project of Add N To (X)’s Andrew Aveling, producing a very different sound in this, his slightly shambolic beat pop side project. Recent hit single ‘Their Way’ featured the vocal talents of a certain Pete Doherty; indeed Doherty stole most of the original Littl’ans to form his current band. Beyond that the Liitl’ans produce impeccable pop with hints of 50’s doo wop and urchin-esque raggle taggle street music. - PlayLouder.com
Littl'ans - Their Way
[Rough Trade]
The lovechild of Andrew Aveling (formerly of White Sport and Add N to (X) and Pete Doherty (are you reading this on the moon? No? Then I shan't bother) delivers a suprisingly charming, lovable debut. Combining the best elements of both contributors' previous recordings, 'Their Way' is pure, laid back autumnal pop.
Doherty's husky, seductive vocals are the perfect contrast to a record that verges on the twee, and drags it back from the realms of The Delgados and Yo La Tengo with just a hint of smut. It's the sound of a fondly remembered summer road trip; of evenings drawing in; and the times when love and life seem(ed) so promising and exciting.
On first listen it gives the feeling of promising to go somewhere but never quite reaching it; it's a gentle, laid back number with Libertines inspired guitar, just begging for an audience singalong. You almost will it to explode into a blazing ball of heavy riffs and anarchy. But it really is a grower in the truest sense of the word, and is definite proof that the voice behind the tabloid the hype is worthy of the devotion it receives.
Overall, a little gem of a record-inoffensive, unlikely to cause a storm, but would sit quietly sparkling as a long-standing favourite in your record collection.
By Helen Clarke
http://angryape.com/reviews/2005/10/littlans-their-way
- Angry Ape music website
Discography
Recordings
- 2005 single Their Way: 3 tracks
- Dior Homme fashion show, We Look Good Together: 2 tracks
- Album track recordings of around 16 tracks produced by Mercury Prize 2005 nominated producer Robert Harder [Polar Bear, Whitey, Babyshambles, Rubicks], currently in final stages of mixing
Releases
- 17th October 2005 single Their Way with Pete Doherty, licensed to Rough Trade
o UK indie charts: 2
o UK charts: 27
- Limited edition Dior Homme CD July 2006 We Look Good Together.
Photos
Bio
Maybe it was the long tour with audiences won over by the live shows that saw people dancing and stage diving in equal measures. Or perhaps it was the sold out headlining show at Koko in Camden, London. But when Hedi Slimane asks you to write the soundtrack to what could possibly be his last show for Dior Homme and then to play at his birthday party you know youve got to be something special.
Enter Littlans: that is, charismatic frontman Andrew Aveling [formerly of Add N to (X) and The White Sport], bassist Ryan Blagrove, Ben Hutchinson [drums], tambourine-player Ronnie Joice, and lead guitarist Alex Mahood. With their skiffle-rock sound growing out of the London music scene and informed by influences too erratic to mention, Littlans have won admiration from everyone from Mick Jagger to Elton John to Karl Lagerfeld.
Littlans supported Babyshambles on a chaotic UK tour in the autumn of 2005 [a tour that saw cancelled shows, double bookings, and unnecessary police raids on the tour buses] and recorded a single with Pete Doherty, Their Way, released October 2005, that climbed to number two in the UK indie charts. They are currently in the final stages of mixing their forthcoming album with respected producer Robert Harder.
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