Last night, Vodka had the pleasure of sitting in on a local house concert here in Nebraska. The venue was a wonderful old farmhouse, the attendees and hosts were warm and friendly, and the band, well that was the duo Big Little Lions. Vodka stumbled on Big Little Lions after checking, as I sometimes do, on the status of a performer that I had reviewed a number of years ago, Helen Austin. That look back found that Helen was still performing, but as a part of the duo, Big Little Lions, and at that time, the long-player Alive And Well had just been released. I liked what I heard so much that I immediately reviewed Find Your Tribe from that long player and also added the CD to my purchases. I’ve not been sorry.

Big Little Lions put on a fun and funny show but are very down-home and personable people. During the break and after the show, I spent a few minutes discussing music, music-making, the state of the music industry, and just general conversation. It was great, but the best part was the music.

I’ve been sitting on this review for a month now, when Big Little Lions released their latest long-player, Inside Voice (October 4, 2019), a collection of music loosely themed around mental health issues, because I knew there was at least a chance I’d make it to this house concert. Enter Here We Go Again (seen/heard here) the lead-off track from that long-player. Here We Go Again is about taking a deep breath, and stepping forward out of your comfort zone. About the oppression that some people feel just going out into the world and experiencing it. 

Officially, Inside Voice is 14 tracks of great music and insights. Unofficially, and only on the CD release, they have included their old out of print EP (you can still purchase it as a digital download), Paper Cage, as ghost tracks at the end of the CD. That means you get bonus tracks by purchasing the physical CD, so go out there and do that!

Big Little Lions is so much more than good music. Helen Austin and Paul Otten have perfectly blended personalities that add to the performance.  Their music is often light and fun, which makes difficult subject matter, such as mental health issues, easier to digest. That said, you should take a moment to really listen to those lyrics because Big Little Lions have a lot to say and they say it very well.

You can find more information on Big Little Lions by heading up to their website. If you can make it to where they are playing live, I highly encourage you to do so! You will come away feeling better about your life, no matter what your life circumstances are. If you can’t do that, or even if you can, pick up their music and add it to your catalog. This is GREAT stuff!