Little Image Are In Their Proudest Era Yet

INTERVIEW

May 23

Image by Erik Frost

Dallas alternative-pop trioLittle Image are back in the scene with their mesmerizing, magical, and astonishing album “Kill The Ghost.” Made of Jack Simmons (lead vocals), Troy Bruner (drums), and Brandon Walters (bass/keys), they have been making music for almost a decade, and this album really let them open up and share what they’ve been holding in. I have been a fan of Little Image for years and it’s been an amazing experience seeing them grow and find themselves in this new era. I had the opportunity to speak with Jack and talk about all things music, touring, and what’s in store for them.

HANNAH PENA: The album has been out for a little over a month. How does it feel to finally have it out into the world?

JACK SIMMONS: Yeah, it feels amazing. I mean, we spent so much time on it. I think it feels like you know the period at the end of a sentence. We spent like the last two years working on it so I think just to have it out finally is just refreshing and exciting so it's like a weight lifted off our shoulders.

HP: You guys made visuals, and some music videos, for all the tracks. What was the process of constructing ideas for each track, and working with Sawyer?

JS: It was amazing. I mean Sawyer's like our fourth band member. He's just such a force within what we're doing and so I don't know it just feels normal to work with him. It was just awesome getting to kind of have the opportunity to make what we've always wanted to make and just have the resources to do it. It’s been sick and it's cool to see it be seen by so many people.

HP: What was your favorite track that you guys made a video for?

JS: I would say The Reaper, honestly. That video just is strong. But there's also a music video for Always Ends that's not out yet…I really like that one.

HP: The fonts for each track are so unique, just by looking at them you get a sneak peek of what the track will sound like. How was it collaborating with Household Name Studio and devising fonts for the track list?

JS: That's our buddy Aaron. He is just an artist friend who's kind of been like he created the rabbit logo for us and he's kind of created our whole visual thing for this whole album. So any design stuff you see, any merch you see that we're selling, that's all Aaron. It's been cool to kind of collaborate with him and just make happen what we've gotten happening. All the font titles and stuff…there's like a track list and it has all the fonts like with the track listing all in a row. Which is sick.

HP: Did you guys lean into any pop culture references while creating this album? My sister said it was very Black Mirror.

JS: Oh, interesting. Yeah, that's funny. It was not intentional if it came out that way. That's sick that that's a take on it. But no, I don't think so. I don't think there was any true intention behind much of it. I think we just wanted to capture a feeling of something that just evokes a feeling within people who watch it. Which I think is kind of like a lost art with you know, how fast-paced things are, and our attention spans are so short. So, yeah, I don't know. It was cool to, like, get to make magic visually, and it's cool that that's, like, the perception of it from somebody. Yeah, I don't know how she got Black Mirror. I mean, it's like there's, you know, there's like a lot of characters throughout the album, like representative of just humanity. But yeah, I guess, you know, it's like a similar thing to like Black Mirror, I guess.

HP: When I first heard the album, at the listening party, Reaper was the final track. It is such a personal song. What was the decision to make Reaper be in the middle of the album?

JS: I don't know. I think just when you're trying to decide pacing on an album, you want it to flow correctly. So I feel like there was no reason why it's right in the center. But it kind of does divide two different worlds of the album. I feel like before the Reaper, it's like everything you've kind of heard already, and it's been out for a while. And then you hear the Reaper and then everything after the Reaper is like kind of all fresh new stuff. So I don't know. That's interesting. I never thought about it. I don't think there was any intention. I think we just liked the transition from the track before it to the next track and pacing felt better.

HP: Yeah, because when you guys played it at the listening party, I was like, oh, I like this song, I like this song, I like this song. And then we just skipped the Reaper and went straight into, like, the new songs. I was like, okay, that's very, like, an interesting take that you guys made that decision to put the Reaper last. So, like, a select few people can have that different perspective hearing everything, like, the new songs and then the Reaper.

JS: Yeah, totally. I love that. Yeah, we were just like the most proud of that video. So it was like this video feels like something that we really are just on a different level proud of. So, yeah, I think we wanted to like instead of it just kind of playing along with the album, just like highlighting it and being like, this is something we're really proud of.

HP: I love Mr. Cynical. The second I heard that track, I was like, oh, this is my favorite track.

JS: Oh, that's your favorite?

HP: Yeah, that's my top three are Mr. Cynical, Shots I'm Not Calling, and Deaf Con!

JS: Okay, interesting. The first two are the two that I wrote fully by myself.

HP: You knocked it out of the water. What was that day like in the studio making it?

JS: I had written that like when I was still living in New York, which is like four years ago. I've been sleeping on that for a while. I had written the chorus of that song a long time before. And I just couldn't figure out what I wanted to do with the verses. So I just kind of sat with the chorus for a long time. I was like, man, I got to find some verses for this because this is really cool. It's a cool chorus. And then one day, I had just moved to Texas, and I had sat down to write for the first time, and I was just like, “you know what? I'm just going to finish that song. And whatever the verses that comes out today, that's what it's going to be.” Because I'm tired of trying all these different ideas and not sticking to something. So anyways, that was when it got written, and it's kind of just been sitting there since like 2023 at this point.

HP: Yeah, and it's, like, the sounds that you guys made around it, like, the guitars and stuff. The overall beat is, like, really happy. But if you really look into the lyrics, they're not so happy.

JS: I want to write more happy music like on whatever we do next. That's what I want to write. I've just been in a happier season in my life, so I'm excited to write some happy music.

HP: Your tour is coming up. You went on tour with Bad Suns, how was that like testing the waters with the new tracks?

JS: It was awesome with Bad Suns again. It was great. I love those guys so much. They're just the nicest. And it's so nice that they've taken us on tour so many times. No bands do that for other bands. It's just kind that they've been so generous with letting us play with them. It was great. We played The Reaper for the first time. We played The Rabbit for the first time. Yeah, it's just been sick, and I'm excited. This week we start rehearsals for the headline, so it'll be sick to start learning how to play Defcon and Don't Matter and All That.

HP: Is Troy doing the lighting stuff on tour?

JS: Yeah, yeah, he's doing a show.

HP: We love that for him. He's working double time. Speaking of tour, I know you guys just mentioned you're going into tour rehearsals, but how do you think it'll stand out among the other tours that you guys did? How have you seen your confidence grow from your first, headlining tour to now?

JS: That's a great question. I mean, we're, I feel like we've been doing it for so long now. It just feels like we know who we are and, you know, we know, like, I don't know who we are on stage and all that. So, um, I don't know. I think that this album, like to be, you know, I think it's our best album we've ever made. I think just to be able to experience that live, I think that's just going to be a pretty different experience than what we've done before. So we've got some cool things we're planning, yeah can't tell you anything but yeah.

HP: This is my last question. It's kind of, like, my go-to question. If your band name was an answer on Jeopardy, what would your clue be?

JS: If it were, oh, okay. Our clue would probably be “big picture”. Okay, yeah. That would be the hint.

HP: Who is “Little Image?” Beep! Thank you so much. I appreciate it. I just want to say thank you again.

JS: Yeah, of course.

HP: Big fan of you guys. I'm so proud of you. I remember when I first saw you guys at Bad Suns and I was like, wait, they're really good. And seeing you guys with Colony House.

JS: You have been around for a while. Yeah. Yeah.

HP: And then like your first headlining tour

JS: Yeah, yeah

HP: You guys have just been knocking it out of the water and this new album…every time I go into my car I'm like, “I have to listen to this album.” I'm just yapping but I’m just so immensely proud of you guys.

JS: Thank you so much Hannah. That really means the world to me and I just really appreciate that for real. Thank you for so much.

HP: Thank you again and I'll see you soon!

This new album does not shy away from perfection. From a soothing and laid-back tune in “Real Estate,” to a heartfelt and passionate track of “Always Ends,” Little Image are showing the world they mean business. The growth that Little Image have had, since their debut album Musings, does not go unnoticed. This alternative/pop/rock sound mixed with dark synths, low-fi, and dramatic chorus, show their

dedication and passion to make music for them, and for fans to listen. They are currently on their Kill The Ghost tour. Don’t miss out and get tickets here.