Originating as the bedroom project of guitarist Ricky Lorenzo and vocalist/guitarist Jeannette Berman in 2017, Little Oso finally became what they describe as a “real band with real friends” in 2022 with the addition of DJ Nelson (drums) and Dana Guth (bass). Released a year later, the Happy Songs EP signalled what the new version of the band could sound like, elevating the dream pop sensibilities of previous releases into something far more vivid without sacrificing the immediacy and personality that made Little Oso stand out in the first place. “I think our song-writing process and musical dynamic works really well because I tend to write darker, moodier guitar riffs,” Lorenzo explains, “and Jeannette brings a really optimistic melody and lyricism to our songs. It’s a great balance.”
With new full-length How Lucky To Be Somebody coming early in 2025 via Repeating Cloud and Safe Suburban Home, Little Oso have shared single ‘Other People’s Lives’ to introduce this bittersweet style perfectly. Our first taste of an album which “chronicles all of the multiple truths of what it feels like to exist,” as Berman says, “and how at the end of the day, at least we get to be here to experience something together.” Nostalgic dream pop tones and Berman’s fond vocal style possess a real sense of sincerity, as though attempting to celebrate the tenuous present as it gets squeezed smaller and smaller by a variety of looming threats. As the refrain goes: “We could build a good life / in the end times.”