Little Kid have floated around the DIY underground since 2011, with band leader Kenny Boothby propelling a steady flow of releases and always getting closer but not quite to success. With the band signing to Solitaire Recordings and preparing for their first label release, Little Kid delivers a fitting single offering tongue-in-cheek thoughts on the quest for success.
“Thief on the Cross” pulls from Boothby’s Pentacostal upbringing as it likens him to the thief hung on a cross next to Jesus, in his case looking toward other more recognized artists with jealousy and pleas to help him upward.
“Praying you’ll remember me / when you finally reach / the entrance to eternity / I played in that old three piece / we opened for thee / way back in 2015,” Boothby sings amidst a fuzz, folk-tinged backing that brings to mind Pinegrove (who Little Kid has played alongside) or even the off-kilter arrangements of new labelmates Common Holly.
“The song is about certain bands finding success while others don’t,” Boothby explains. “Feelings of jealousy that might sprout from that, some perceived obligations for more successful bands to help out the newer ones, the awkwardness that can come from shifts in those power dynamics… but it’s definitely very tongue in cheek. I’m kind of poking fun at myself a bit, kinda praying some bands we have played with will somehow take us along with them to the promised land as they gain more success and exposure.”
