Little Scout are an indie pop band from Brisbane. They like wine, bad dancing and are masters of awkward conversation. They would like to buy nicer instruments, but generally can’t afford them.
After last year’s warm reception to their debut album, Take Your Light, the band are currently locked in their rehearsal space, cooking up new sounds for their follow up record. Recently, they announced a run of headline shows in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne in support of the first taste of the new album, single Go Quietly.
Below, guitarist and sometimes singer Patrick Elliott gives us an insight into the inner workings and influences of the group.
Your music has been described as Scando-pop, twee and indie. How would you describe it?
It’s difficult to say. Bands often grow uncomfortable with the labels/genre that people start attaching to them. We’ve probably fallen into those categories at different stages of our career, but at the moment we’re just trying to write interesting pop songs with a bit more teeth.
Who/what are your major influences when figuring out your sound?
All sorts of things really. We are surrounded by a lot of talented musical friends. I think more than anything, they inspire and challenge us to make the music that we do. We also find that if we’ve been touring a fair bit, all that time on stage makes us want to write music that works well in front of an audience.
Jonathan Boulet recently remixed your single ‘Go Quietly’. What’s it like having your work re-interpreted?
We’re really into the idea – especially if it is someone like Jono who we all respect and look up to musically. His ‘Go Quietly’ remix is just crazy. We don’t know how he does it, but we love it.
Your hometown of Brisbane has been churning out a lot of really great bands recently. What is it about your Brisbane that makes the tunes that come out of there so great? Something in the water?
Yes, it is the water.
But also, it is a fairly supportive scene, mixed in with a good amount of healthy competitiveness. Also, everyone plays in everyone else’s band, so the awesome just gets spread around consistently.
Your released your first two EPs independently before moving to a label for your debut album, did this change the way you make music?
Not really. We remain independent, but have a distribution deal. In fact, if anything, it allowed us to make music the same way we always have.
You’ve supported some pretty major artists; everyone from Belle and Sebastian to The New Pornographers. Have you picked up any hints or tips along the way?
I guess the most refreshing thing is that, in our experience, those bigger artists are really down to earth and still passionate about touring and playing music. So, if anything, I think we’ve learnt to just be ourselves and never take anything for granted.
How do you like your music? On digital, CD, or vinyl (maybe even cassette)?
It depends what you’re listening to really? I’m relatively non-discriminate. I have a copy of Michael Jackson’s ‘Dangerous’ on cassette and Pink Floyd’s ‘Dark Side of the Moon’ on vinyl. There’s some pretty fierce sentimental attachment involved in listening to those albums in those formats. I get into a lot of new stuff via streaming music (Rdio, Spotify etc). My favourite music tends to end up on CD in my car glovebox.
What has been your most memorable gig to date?
I must say, supporting Belle & Sebastian at our favourite Brisbane venue, The Tivoli, was pretty special.
What gigs can we catch you at next?
We’re doing a quick east coast tour to promote ‘Go Quietly’ in the next few weeks. You can catch us in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne through August and September – check out our website or Oztix for more details. Don’t forget to come up and say hello!
www.facebook.com/LittleScoutMusic
