Little Lore – Seven Stories EP (Part One & Part Two)

Following 2021’s well-received, self-titled debut EP and a quartet of equally noteworthy stand-alone singles, the London based Little Lore (aka Indie-Americana singer-storyteller Tricia Duffy) now presents the Seven Stories EP, a CD collective of 2023’s digitally released Part One and, now, the three track Part Two.
Seven Stories is also well named; not in the obvious sense that the CD is made up of seven tracks (or the two digital EPs combined, take your format of choice pick), but the fact they are just that – stories, from life, love and loss to planetary concerns and death.
That the latter (a "go to subject" for Miss Duffy) can be covered via genuine sadness or with a wicked sense of deathly humour makes Little Lore’s songs all the more intriguing, beguiling and appealing.
'Running On Empty' settles the listener in to the EP in deftly crafted, haunting Americana-pop meets singer-songwriter style.
The beautiful simplicity (and lovely harmonies) of the number support a deeper lyric cleverly conceived as a letter from the planet to the human race regarding climate change and potential repercussions – not so much for Mother Earth, which will survive, but for humanity, which may not ("spin round the sun, as you fall one by one, when the last child is gone, I’ll miss you").
The equally delicate and slightly Nashville 'Stolen Glances,' written from the perspective of someone travelling on a train, has our passenger concluding there’s a bigger journey than the one currently being undertaken on the rails, where observations lead to as many questions as answers (lyrical depth, considered narratives and clever wordplay are all part of the Little Lore storytelling profile).
Melancholy and melody mix in beautifully touching fashion on 'The Bench,' a forlorn waltz to a love found, lost, rekindled, and lost again, the second time to the passing of an older partner ("she loved him once, she loved him twice, but the Gods didn’t feel like playing nice").
Based on a true story, it also nods to, and honours, the tens of thousands of commemorative benches countrywide that memorialise such love, and loss.
Playing as highly contrasting centre-point to the seven tracks is 'Sebastian Says,' an up-tempo, driving Americana rock number that lyrically tackles, and rallies against, Imposter Syndrome, that inner critic that creates nagging self-doubt.
The subtle atmospheres and county & western styling of 'The Jackal' works well for a lyric touching on the trickster myths surrounding the subject matter.
The downtempo 'Little Pieces' also carries a little country & western, but in much darker, unsettling Nick Cave-esque fashion; the song is kicked further off-kilter via a lyric that equates food choices as life (or lack thereof) choices.
The cheekily titled 'It Would be Easier to Miss You if You’d Died' (a co-write with musician & songwriter Thiago Trosso) strikes a perfect balance between fun, mid-tempo singalong pop a la the Barenaked Ladies and a wickedly sharp lyric (about being ghosted by a person you were once very close to) that dark humoured specialist Amigo The Devil would be proud to call his own.
With instrumentation and lovely, warm production from Oli Deakin (who provided the same skills on the debut EP and subsequent singles), and featuring Morgan Karabel on drums, Seven Stories delivers one result – an excellent extended EP that builds on what has come before from Little Lore to showcase a genuine talent.
One with very much her own style.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
Purchase Seven Stories and all previous releases by Little Lore at: https://littlelore.bandcamp.com
Seven Stories is also well named; not in the obvious sense that the CD is made up of seven tracks (or the two digital EPs combined, take your format of choice pick), but the fact they are just that – stories, from life, love and loss to planetary concerns and death.
That the latter (a "go to subject" for Miss Duffy) can be covered via genuine sadness or with a wicked sense of deathly humour makes Little Lore’s songs all the more intriguing, beguiling and appealing.
'Running On Empty' settles the listener in to the EP in deftly crafted, haunting Americana-pop meets singer-songwriter style.
The beautiful simplicity (and lovely harmonies) of the number support a deeper lyric cleverly conceived as a letter from the planet to the human race regarding climate change and potential repercussions – not so much for Mother Earth, which will survive, but for humanity, which may not ("spin round the sun, as you fall one by one, when the last child is gone, I’ll miss you").
The equally delicate and slightly Nashville 'Stolen Glances,' written from the perspective of someone travelling on a train, has our passenger concluding there’s a bigger journey than the one currently being undertaken on the rails, where observations lead to as many questions as answers (lyrical depth, considered narratives and clever wordplay are all part of the Little Lore storytelling profile).
Melancholy and melody mix in beautifully touching fashion on 'The Bench,' a forlorn waltz to a love found, lost, rekindled, and lost again, the second time to the passing of an older partner ("she loved him once, she loved him twice, but the Gods didn’t feel like playing nice").
Based on a true story, it also nods to, and honours, the tens of thousands of commemorative benches countrywide that memorialise such love, and loss.
Playing as highly contrasting centre-point to the seven tracks is 'Sebastian Says,' an up-tempo, driving Americana rock number that lyrically tackles, and rallies against, Imposter Syndrome, that inner critic that creates nagging self-doubt.
The subtle atmospheres and county & western styling of 'The Jackal' works well for a lyric touching on the trickster myths surrounding the subject matter.
The downtempo 'Little Pieces' also carries a little country & western, but in much darker, unsettling Nick Cave-esque fashion; the song is kicked further off-kilter via a lyric that equates food choices as life (or lack thereof) choices.
The cheekily titled 'It Would be Easier to Miss You if You’d Died' (a co-write with musician & songwriter Thiago Trosso) strikes a perfect balance between fun, mid-tempo singalong pop a la the Barenaked Ladies and a wickedly sharp lyric (about being ghosted by a person you were once very close to) that dark humoured specialist Amigo The Devil would be proud to call his own.
With instrumentation and lovely, warm production from Oli Deakin (who provided the same skills on the debut EP and subsequent singles), and featuring Morgan Karabel on drums, Seven Stories delivers one result – an excellent extended EP that builds on what has come before from Little Lore to showcase a genuine talent.
One with very much her own style.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
Purchase Seven Stories and all previous releases by Little Lore at: https://littlelore.bandcamp.com