Appearing on The Jimmy Fallon Show is no mean feat for most acts, but doing so as an Irish band yet to release their début album is pretty much unheard of! So it’s a testament to their talent that Little Green Cars were invited to perform on the show whilst in the States in March. That début album has since been released and based on the evidence of ‘Absolute Zero,’ it won’t be long before the offers from chat shows are raining in from every corner of the globe.
Kicking things off with second single Harper Lee, ‘Absolute Zero’ wastes no time in baring all to its listener. The track eloquently sums up everything about Little Green Cars; harmonious vocals, memorable lyrics, massive choruses and even bigger instrumentation. It’s not surprising that comparisons with Arcade Fire are being made already.
One thing that Little Green Cars has over their Canadian counterparts, however, is a strong, multi-dimensional female vocalist. While Régine Chassagne has her moments, her voice pales in comparisons to that of Faye O’Rourke, most notably on My Love Took Me Down To The River To Silence Me during which O’Rourke gives Florence Welch a run for her money.
The trans-Atlantic influence continue on The Consequences Of Not Sleeping where there’s a blatant Band of Horses undertone infused with a little bit of Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly. Couple that with Stevie Appleby’s Mumford-esque vocals and you are gifted with something truly special.
Red And Blue proves the theory that nothing on this earth is perfect. It’s the only low point of the album, but boy is it a low point! Experimenting is all well and good, but doing so at the expense of what it is that makes your sound so unique is a musical sin. Imogen Heap remains the only artist to use a vocoder and be successful in doing so.
Luckily, the quality of the album returns immediately with another stunning vocal performance from O’Rourke on The Kitchen Floor and then the infectiously catchy single The John Wayne renders Red And Blue a distant memory. The album closes with a number of slower tracks with the influence of producer Markus Dravs (Mumford & Sons, Arcade Fire) evident throughout.
Comparisons to the aforementioned bands will continue to crop up whenever Little Green Cars are mentioned so it’s up to them to break free of that stranglehold and become known for being an influence, rather than being influenced. Based on this début, they shouldn’t have too much difficulty in doing so.