Last year, Toronto band Little Kid released Transfiguration Highway, the fifth album from the Kenny Boothby-led band, but their biggest breakthrough to date. Today, to celebrate the dual facts of 10 years as a band and a vinyl reissue of their 2017 album Sun Milk, they release their first new music since last year in “John Arnott”. It continues Boothby’s predilection for religious themes, as he explains:
“The song is inspired by Pastor John Arnott, who started the Toronto Airport Christian Fellowship in Toronto, the site of the so-called Toronto Blessing – a charismatic Christian revival in the 90s and early 00s… Most of the churches I attended in my teens and early adulthood were led by pastors inspired by the movement that started at TACF: focused on performing miracles, receiving the Gifts of the Spirit, having direct spiritual experiences with God – frankly, they were all a bit ‘out there.‘”
“John Arnott” is filled with Boothby’s reflections of the titular pastor, who lures people in by claiming he got a vision from god and then ends up drunk and babbling. “I was fortunate to attend one of your prophetic events / you were lying on the floor when I left,” Boothby sings, though not with judgement, just pure quizzical observation. Musically, “John Arnott” finds Little Kid in fuzzy, warbly indie territory, seeming to mirror the uncertain faith in Boothby’s mind – being pulled back and forth so much that it causes dissonance. The messy guitar squall builds as the song progresses – until it reaches an almost shoegaze level of engulfment by the end – perhaps it’s the rapture, perhaps it’s being black out drunk.
Listen to “John Arnott” below or on your preferred platform.
“John Arnott” is out on Solitaire Recordings. Follow the band on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Bandcamp.
