Coming out of Mandjoogoordap/Mandurah, a small coastal city not far from Perth, is Little Guilt, an indie pop band who are effortlessly tossing out softly sweet tunes.
Their latest is new single ‘Slow Burn’, a breezy track filled with lead singer Ella Melton’s earnest vocals and quietly invigorating hooks. There are clear notes of fellow indie pop star Stella Donnelly, a fellow Western Australian native.
“It’s about liking someone, them liking you, but not realising it yet,” the band explains. “Being trapped in a sort of romantic limbo where you know this could blossom into something awesome, but the other person is still coming to terms with this. It’s waiting for them to get to your level of obsession.”
‘Slow Burn’ follows the similarly bright ‘Mum’s Advice’ and ‘Old’, completing a strong opening trio of tracks to ingratiate Little Guilt to the rest of Australia outside of WA.
To celebrate their new single, we caught up with the band as part of our Get To Know series to find out more about their music.
Little Guilt’s ‘Slow Burn’ is out now.
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How did your artist name come about?
We were struggling for such a long time to find a name; we couldn’t really decide on anything. Then one night when we were jamming, our keys player was wearing a t-shirt that says, ‘A little guilt goes a long way’, and our drummer suggested ‘Little Guilt’. We think he said it not really expecting all of us to love it, but we did, hence, Little Guilt!
How would you describe your music to your grandma?
Almost all of our grandparents listen to our music religiously. They’re probably our biggest fans (and probably our only fans). They could probably describe our music better than us at this point!
Tell us about a few of your tracks; their titles and what they’re about?
‘Old’ was our first song we released and it’s basically about feeling as if someone you care for deeply will eventually outgrow you and move on to a new chapter of their life, leaving you behind.
‘Mum’s Advice’, is about overcoming low self-confidence, something we’ve all been through at one point or another. It’s about always comparing yourself to others on social media who paint this perfect picture of their life, but in reality, are facing the exact same struggles as everyone else.
What do you love about your hometown?
We’re all from a town called Mandurah in Western Australia, about an hour south of the Perth metro region. We all love it there: it’s very coastal but still quite built up and central to all things happening around Perth. We love how quiet it is compared to the city. The only issue is getting back home after we’ve played a gig. An hour and a bit drive after a gig is always very challenging.
Career highlight so far?
We’re still very early on in our career at the moment, and we’ve got a bunch of exciting things coming, but ours would probably be either our single launch for ‘Mum’s Advice’, or supporting the legends Old Mervs in Scarborough. We love those guys and their music and can’t wait to see where they’re going.
Fave non-music hobby?
All of us do very different things outside music. Some of us are golf heads, like Jarrod (bass) and Joe (lead guitar), while Mop (keys) and Brady (drums) love to surf. Ella (lead singer) is crazy about her indoor plants… she honestly won’t stop talking about them.
What’s on your dream rider?
To be completely honest, any rider is a dream rider. Free beers for poor musicians are a saving grace.
Dream music collaboration?
There’s too many options to nail it down to one so we’ll name a few: Middle Kids, Stella Donnelly, Phoebe Bridgers, Flight Facilities, and Dope Lemon/Angus and Julia Stone.
Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
Hopefully playing music full-time in this band! If not, we’ll still all be playing music. Whether something big happens or not, you’ll still see us around having fun.
What’s your go-to karaoke song?
‘Total Eclipse of the Heart’…
What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?
Our song ‘Mum’s Advice’ answers that question perfectly! Don’t care about what anyone else thinks of you, be yourself, and just have fun.
What’s one obsession you have that no one would guess after listening to your music?
We all love hectic dance music. We probably won’t ever make a EDM song, but that doesn’t
stop us from loving it.
