SoundCloud Gems: Tiny Little Houses

If your junior high crush had written cheery little romantic ditties, they would have sounded like Tiny Little Houses. Every song posted by this Australian lad is indie pop gold–from the sweet lyrics to the beautiful acoustic melodies. The content of the tracks tells the life cycle of a relationship–from crush stage longing to the jaded pain of a broken heart. While it’s hard to think the singer has experienced such a serious relationship, it helps to remember that love is at its most dramatic in its youth.

What’s most distinctive about Tiny Little Houses, however, is his voice, which is the lovechild of late singers Elliot Smith and Jeff Hanson.

Releasing Elliott Smith

For all the Elliott Smith fans, the Kill Rock Stars record label announced today the re-release of Smith’s first solo album and is giving away an mp3 of a previously unreleased single from 1997. See below for all the goodies.

“Kill Rock Stars is very excited to announce that on April 6th, 2010 we will be adding Elliott Smith’s Roman Candle and From a Basement on the Hill records to our catalog. Roman Candle is Elliott Smith’s first solo album and was originally released on Portland’s Cavity Search Records in 1994. Roman Candle has been remastered for the re-release by Larry Crane, editor of Tape Op Magazine and archivist for Elliott’s family.

We will also be releasing Roman Candle on vinyl for the first time in the U.S.

With the addition of these two records Kill Rock Stars is now the home for all of Elliott Smith’s independent releases: Roman Candle, Elliott Smith, Either/Or, From a Basement on the Hill, and New Moon.

To celebrate the addition of these amazing records we are giving away a free, previously unreleased song entitled “Cecilia/Amanda”. It was recorded at Jackpot! Recording Studio in 1997 by Larry Crane. An earlier version of this song was initially written and recorded by Elliott’s high school band, Stranger Than Fiction, and was known as “Time is Ours Now”. “Cecilia/Amanda” is a reworking of that song with almost completely different lyrics.”