Little Riddles
Minneapolis, MN | Established. Jan 01, 2015 | SELF | AFM
Music
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Little Riddles is a four-piece band comprised of Rob (guitar), Rachel (fiddle), Daniel (bass) and Jake (drums) from Minneapolis, Minnesota, They formed in late 2015 and somehow already delivered a five-song self-titled EP Little Riddles that is well beyond what you would expect from such a newly established band.
The songs are catchy, extremely well written and feel fairly cohesive. Guitars are usually clean and the fiddle is an x-factor that helps separate this band from many out there. I can’t forget the inventive bass lines and sturdy drums.
Up first is “Old Time Radio” which has a fun Americana vibe that leans into bluegrass and country. Imagine you are at an outdoor festival in the summer. People are eating ribs with a side of mac and cheese, the little ones are running around and the sun is beating down. This song comes on and at least half the people put down their ribs, momentarily forget they have children they have to look over and hit the dance floor which consists of open space and the grass beneath their feet.
For those of you old enough to remember the song “Istanbul (Not Constantinople)” by They Might Be Giants that's what I was reminded of when listening to the song “Lay Your Money Down.” I think if the band makes a video to this song it should definitely be one of a traditional Russian folk dance. You know that one where a person has their arms crossed and kicks their legs high in the air.
“Riding Every Rail” is warm honey and nostalgia. It’s another delightful song that's about as enjoyable as an Arnold Palmer on a Sunday afternoon. “Get Ready, Sweet Betty” is up next and you can definitely hear some of The Beatles. In fact I’d say this song is 80% Paul Mccartney. Love that bass line by the way.
I didn’t know if the band can pull off melancholy as I was closing up the EP. Well, I’m here to report they pull it off and then some. I loved it. The song is mostly about vocal harmonies and would have fit perfectly into the movie O Brother, Where Art Thou?. That’s a great movie maybe I’ll watch it this weekend.
This band has the goods. These five songs are a great start. I’d say their niche sound as a band isn’t quite there yet but with this amount of talent I could see it being more defined with another EP or hopefully LP. This is certainly a band to keep your eyes on and Little Riddles is one hell of a beginning to their journey. - No More Division
Discography
Still working on that hot first release.
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Bio
Via driving rhythms, colorful solos, and three-part harmony, Minneapolis-based roots act Little Riddles delivers complex stories with simple melodies in the vein of the American folk and rock traditions.
The band is fronted by singer-songwriter Robert Pieh, who in 2013 picked up the guitar from a roommate in Costa Rica and shortly after began writing his own music. With the first two records he owned having been The Essential Johnny Cash and Eminem's Marshall Mathers LP, Pieh draws on a wide range of influences in his writing, yielding a varied, roots-centric catalog reminiscent of Robbie Robertson's work with The Band.
Having released their self-titled, debut EP in April of 2016, the band is following the momentum of their successful introduction, playing weekly in the Twin Cities region and greater Midwest. Little Riddles is returning to the studio in Winter 2017 to record at Minneapolis mainstay The Terrarium, whose tracking rooms have seen acts such as Trampled By Turtles, Mason Jennings, and Motion City Soundtrack.
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