They may be from Earth but Little Trips is preparing to go interstellar. This indie duo takes the strange and often foreign feeling world around them and conveys what they see through steady and subtly psychedelic grooves. This is evidenced no better than on their debut single, “Orange & Foggy.” With the track inspired by the hazy glow of the Los Angeles cityscape, band members Greg Laut and Jason Paton tell the story of their trip to the music Mecca two summers ago. However, their telling of this tale might just be as fuzzy as the smoggy skylines they peered out upon all those months ago.
“Orange and Foggy” starts out as a feel-good journey through wavey guitar chords and synths that wander beautifully like clusters of stars in the far reaches of space. On top of this rests gentle vocal work that adds a uniquely human element to the song, as Laut recounts his small and personal memories experienced from being out west. This is all tied together by consistent drum work which provides the glue that keeps this dreamy adventure moving forward. The percussion acts as the mental tour guide for listeners as they are progressively shuffled onward to hear the next memory.
For as personal and standalone as these memories are, their totality portrays the message that is at the core of the song. It is, as Laut puts it, that “we are unreliable narrators of our own histories.” All memories come to the mind in fragments, and those shards of experience are often hazier than the pollution engulfed skies that whirl above. The chorus of “Orange & Foggy” gives way to the realization that the mental haze manifesting in the mind is an inevitably damning one. With all one’s thoughts doomed to be lost to the slow rollout of time.
A more vivid representation of memories lost can be seen in the music video for this Little Trips single. The VHS grain of the video permeates the over four-minute ride, giving larger headway to the idea that all of these visuals are closer and closer to being lost to time with each play. Laut and Paton are portrayed as roughly outlined figures with their images continuously layered on top of one another in a kaleidoscopic display. This making it hard to know where each video clip stands in time, as they all morph together.
Little Trips have created a thoughtful and impressive debut single that bodes well for their future success. Fans of “Orange and Foggy” are rumored to not have to wait long for more new music from this duo, as a larger album is likely to drop very soon in the coming months. The debut LP on the horizon is giving this duo the catalog to begin performing live, as they are slated to play the Hi-Dive this year at UMS on Saturday at 5:20 p.m. Witness these space travelers as they pass upon their cosmic wisdom.
To follow Little Trips, you can find them on Instagram.