photo by Smitt E Smitty; photo courtesy of Knyvet

Single Reviews of Little Billy Lost: “Tonight” and “Under the Gun”

Little Billy Lost is an assemblage of highly regarded Boston music scene veterans Fred Pineau (guitar, vocals), James Melanson (guitar, vocals), Patrick Moynihan (bass, vocals), and Smitt E. Smitty (drums, percussion). No surprise, the band’s recent singles are fun, raucous, well-crafted, catchy rock ‘n roll tunes. Before I dig deeper into the music, though, I’m going to go on a bit of a tangent, so bear with me.

image courtesy of Knyvet

Don’t you hate it when you’re sure a song reminds you of another song, then you go to listen to the other song and think “what was I thinking?” I’m sure there are elements of “Kids in America” in some of the guitar licks of “Tonight,” but side-by-side the songs sound nothing alike. Not Kim Wilde’s version. Not The Muffs’ version. Elsewhere, I swear there are elements of Journey’s “Only the Young.” I even imagine montage scenes from Vision Quest. Side by side, though, nope; can’t find the connection. So why does “Tonight” remind me of those songs – just in places, not throughout? Hard to say, but they’re all kickass rock songs with a similar energy, so they have that in common. And to be honest, I don’t really hate it when songs remind me of other songs I love, even when that comparison fades upon closer scrutiny, but it does set me off trying to figure out the “why” behind the connections, even if I can’t always.

Back to the music, though, both “Tonight” and “Under the Gun” are garage rock filtered through a rowdy punk rock attitude in the form of catchy-yet-raw power pop. Yes, that means they’re energy-filled, full of hooky twists and turns, and wicked fun.

image courtesy of Knyvet

“Tonight,” in particular, is a larger-than-life power pop anthem, with its energy mirroring the song’s time-for-a-change message. Its fast tempo carries the song beginning to end, while there’s a nifty guitar line, particularly late in the song, that carries this tune to its end.

“Under the Gun,” meanwhile, opens with a little “Should I Stay or Should I Go” energy before quickly evolving into a hard-driving, guitar-driven power pop anthem, replete with “ahhhhh, ahhhhh” background vocals as the song builds to its chorus. “Under the Gun” has plenty of catchy little guitar-based and drum-based nuances to keep it fresh listen after listen. Listen for yourself if you want to know what the song’s about, but it’s a thoughtful song with lyrics like “cancer spreads when nothing’s done” that urge action because “we’re under the gun.” The song’s so catchy that you may not feel compelled to listen for its message, but you’ll listen to it so many times just for the music that the song’s lyrics will eventually seep into your subconscious. No worries, though; rock ‘n roll is supposed to be subversive, after all.

If you’ve heard neither of these songs yet, they make a good two-fer package. Indeed, fans of rock ‘n roll – from garage rock to power pop-rock to anthemic hard rock – will find a lot to like in Little Billy Lost’s two most recent singles, “Tonight” and “Under the Gun.”