Littles Paia

When Adam Littles was in the Navy Girls, his signature guitar style helped establish that band's unique sound. He carved out a niche with angular yet beautifully glittery guitar lines that fit within the act's catchy rhythms. Around the time that group came to an end, Littles found an odd...

By Tom Murphy

July 19, 2007

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When Adam Littles was in the Navy Girls, his signature guitar style helped establish that band's unique sound. He carved out a niche with angular yet beautifully glittery guitar lines that fit within the act's catchy rhythms. Around the time that group came to an end, Littles found an odd reverb unit in the trash. He rescued the unique piece of equipment and used it to inject a layered, psychedelic sound into the gently affecting folk songs he was writing. With Littles Paia (due at the Office on Saturday, July 21), he explores the roots of folk and blues with powerful original numbers and faithful but personalized cover versions of more obscure artists. It would be easy to lump Paia in with the psych-folk movement because of Littles's trippy use of reverb and a self-modified wah pedal that he triggers with his cyclopean headlight. But the fact that he recently did a set covering Nevermind in its entirety suggests that his adventurous soundcraft subverts such a designation.

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Tom Murphy is a writer, visual artist and musician from Aurora, Colorado. He was a prolific music writer for Westword and a documenter of the Denver music scene.

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Twitter: @simianthinker