The Little Ones

Sunny and sweet as a bowlful of cereal in front of vintage Saturday morning cartoons (you know, back when there were Saturday morning cartoons), the Little Ones are a California indie-pop band, through and through -- which makes sense, since all five boys in the band are from southern California, and the band itself is based in Silver Lake. Singer Ed Reyes and guitarist Ian Moreno first played together in the emo outfit Sunday's Best. When that band fizzled out, they kept working together, each recruiting new members to form the Little Ones in 2006. Reyes brought his brother Brian in, and Moreno got Lee Ladouceur onboard; Brian and Lee take turns on keyboards and bass. Greg Meyer, a drummer from San Diego and Moreno's best friend, joined up when the band got sick of playing with a drum machine. On the strength of their demo, ex-Mighty Lemon Drops guitarist David Newton brought them into his studio to record and acted as producer on their Sing Song EP, which drew the acclaim of publications like the New York Times and earned them comparisons to the Shins.