Tearing your heart out again and again with its deeply melancholic ooziness, Tiny Little Houses’ debut EP is beautifully miserable. A collection of nineties inspired lo-fi tunes recounting tales of finding and losing love, You Tore Out My Heart is a roller coaster ride of emotions.
Charming without breaking into swagger, and melancholic without being depressing, Tiny Little Houses’ You Tore Out My Heart is the perfect lo-fi debut.
Setting the airwaves ablaze with their fuzzed out recordings, the Melbourne four-piece are breaking hearts with their dark blend of folk, rock and shoegaze. From the bedroom musings of frontman Caleb Karvountzis, to being a triple J Unearthed Feature Artist and causing a ruckus at BIGSOUND last month, Tiny Little Houses ain’t so tiny anymore. Drawing inspiration from a bunch of lo-fi bands like Bright Eyes, Neutral Milk Hotel and Modest Mouse that came out of America in the nineties, their gloomy tunes are ridiculously easy to fall in love with.
Heading into the studio earlier this year with producer Steven Schram (Little Red, San Cisco), their debut EP dives into a sea of melancholy. Waves of existential musings roll in on opener Soon We Won’t Exist. In his slow and sullen drawl, Karvountzis contemplates, “How weird it is to think in 60 years we won’t exist and everyone we’ve ever loved will just go on”. With its nostalgic tone and poetic lyrics about life and death, this track overflows with charm. But, crowd favourite, Easy, then takes charming to another level. A break up song set on a summer’s night date at St Kilda’s Luna Park, this tune is a carousel of emotions. Spinning you around with its cruisy melody, aloof harmonies and gritty guitars, it is one ride you’ll want to go on again and again.
Contemplating heartbreak some more, Every Man Knows His Plague; and You Are Mine is a bittersweet mix of sounds and feels. Karvountzis’ twangy vocals swell when the lo-fi guitars, thrashy drums, and even a trumpet takes flight and lifts the mood. But, it all comes crashing back down to earth when title track You Tore Out My Heart really does tear out your heart. Meandering through a brooding soundscape, the melancholic guitar line weaves misery around Karvountzis’ angst-soaked croon, which builds to one final outpouring.
Taking you on a wild ride of feels, You Tore Out My Heart is a charming little nugget of dark and dreamy tunes. Sweet songs swimming in a pool of heavy themes, if you’ve ever gone through a break up then this album will strike a chord. With their debut EP now out, the lads are taking it on tour along the East Coast, so make sure you grab some tickets or be heartbroken forevermore.
You Tore Out My Heart Tour:
Friday October 16 – Shebeen, Melbourne
Saturday October 17 – Karova Lounge, Ballarat
Saturday October 31 – Brighton Up Bar, Sydney
Friday November 27 – Paradise Music Festival, Victoria
While you’re here check out our piece on funny band names.
