Melbourne’s local heroes The Little Stevies have arrived at their hotly-anticipated second album Attention Shoppers
Melbourne’s local heroes The Little Stevies have arrived at their hotly-anticipated second album Attention Shoppers, another sensational release poised to swiftly recapture ears both here and abroad. It’s a milestone that the band, renowned for their casual blend of folk and pop music, have truly earned over their career together.
“Obviously we make plans and have hopes and dreams and aspirations like any other band… but I feel like we kind of roll along very organically whether we try to or not,” says Sibylla Stephen, one half of The Little Stevies’ sister act. “We sort of learned how to be a band together – and even, embarrassingly enough, in front of a few audiences. We played festivals really early on and there would be a lot of people in those rooms and only Robin could play an instrument properly at that stage! I know bands get better with age but we really sort of learned our stuff while we were doing it.”
Their passion and persistence would ultimately pay off. The group’s endearing debut, Love Your Band, scored acclaim from all corners, a hit with fans and critics alike. Its success spurred on plans for another release, the band soon establishing a set of intentions concerning their follow-up project. “We just wanted to make a really good pop album,” Stephen declares. “We felt we had really catchy, punchy pop songs and we just wanted to make a pop album, basically, that sounded like a real band in a room playing real music together as one. We didn’t want to make a Britney Spears type album, we wanted to make a Crowded House pop album.”
In embarking on their next creative endeavour, Attention Shoppers, The Little Stevies would venture onwards and upwards, trading in a familiar St.Kilda setting for studio time in the US. “It was really freaky. It was like, ‘How the fuck did we get here? What the hell are we doing?’, “ Stephen recalls. “We were all really busy organising this thing before we got there. Then we got there and probably when we stepped off the plane was when we first realised what was about to happen and what we were doing. We felt very uncool and very out of place but soon we felt very cool and very LA – we pretended we did anyway! I think having an experience like that really pushed us to stand up to it and say ‘Let’s do the best we can. This is amazing, let’s take every opportunity by the balls and just do it!’ “
This unmitigated ambition would result in Attention Shoppers, their stunning sophomore effort. Stephen reflects fondly upon the experience of bringing their ideas to fruition. “In hindsight it was a really great thing for us to do, to get out of the country, to go to America and record this album with an American producer and stuff. It was great for us as a band and for our confidence,” she explains. “That’s not to say we’ll always do that, but having done it, I feel like I can take on anything now. I feel really great about it,”
“Suddenly we felt like an incredibly professional band with a lot of responsibility on our shoulders. That’s a scary feeling but it’s also a great feeling and it makes you do great things… so I’m really proud of the album and the recording process and I feel like it’s got me ready for whatever.”
THE LITTLE STEVIES play the Toff In Town on both Saturday April 2 and Sunday April 3 before embarking on a nation-wide tour. See moshtix.com.au for tickets.
