Track By Track: Tiny Little Houses walk us through their energetic debut album, Idiot Proverbs

“I’m 25 and still not living out of home, got two degrees and I’m stuck working on the phones. Oh, damn our entitled generation” sings Tiny Little Houses' lead vocalist Caleb Karvountzis on Entitled Generation. It's light and relatable lyricism at its best – funny and teasing, but not too heavy that it makes you reassess your life decisions up until that moment in time. The Melbourne rock four-piece capture this perfectly on Entitled Generation, and on their debut album Idiot Proverbs – out now through Ivy League Records – it's this clever and witty songwriting which stands out the most. "There’s still a lot of opportunity if you look around, but I'm running out of luck / I'm stuck earning 15 bucks, at least the government will feed me if I’m taken by the cops" Karvountzis anthemically shouts on the album's lead single Garbage Bin, which pairs more of this honest, witty lyricism with a stripped-back instrumental which really forces you to soak in those relatable lyrics.

Idiot Proverbs is Tiny Little Houses' most dynamic record to date, which is why we're stoked to not only get the album in our grubby little hands but also to check them out on their headline national tour later this year. In the meantime, however, dive into the making of the record below, from the stories which made highlights including Garbage Bin and Entitled Generation to how living in small, country towns shaped singles including Nowhere SA and Drag Me.

Garbage Bin

I wrote this while I was about to flunk my third attempt at higher education. Feeling like a complete failure, I wrote this song instead of doing my overdue assignments, which was typical of me at the time. It felt really good to scream out, so I sent this song to Ferg, and we recorded it the next day. This song holds a lot of meaning for me.

Entitled Generation

Entitled Generation wasn’t intended to take shots at anyone, and I hope it comes off as a neutral observation of society. The baby boomers have valid criticisms and points of view, and so do the youth. It poses a lot of questions but doesn’t provide any answers but then again I don’t think there are any in this system. It’s just a big mess.

Short Hair

Being an outsider has always stuck with me. Short Hair was inspired by an anecdote my girlfriend's uncle told me. He used to pick on a friend who was a bit of a square with a really conservative haircut and say that "he likes to let his short hair down". I thought it was such a refreshing description, so I got home and mucked around with chords till I yelled that line for the chorus.

Team Player

I’m a team player when it suits me. At times I’m lazy and unmotivated, but I can also be really focused and obsessive when things interest me. We wrote this song in the studio at the last minute, some of the lyrics were pretty off the cuff.

Everyone Is

Everyone Is is the dumb fun track on the record. It’s a light-hearted take on my dating life up until I finished the record – non-existent.

Nowhere, SA

I grew up in country towns until I moved to Melbourne. This song came from the frustration of living in a small town as a teenager. Sean was playing the main riff in rehearsal one day, and it just sounded like how it felt to walk home on a late hazy summer’s night. I told him to keep playing it over and over like a looped sample while I recorded it. I then took it home and wrote the lyrics and worked on it with Clancy and Al to get the structure.

Photo taken by Ziggy Cross.

Idiot Proverbs

This song is a collection of proverbs and sayings which I often hear but don’t believe are true. The world is not everyone’s oyster and when one door closes another one doesn’t necessarily open. I believe as a generation we were misled by our teachers and elders to think we could achieve anything. I’m just trying to be realistic and content.

Caroline

This is the token love song of the album! I was pretty stoked that there is only one sappy tune on this album, and I have a soft spot for it.

The Void

The Void was the first song I wrote and felt like there was something ok about it. It started off as a folk song, but years later, I took the lyrics and changed the chords and then took it to the band who turned it into something more shoegaze-y. My favourite part moment on this track is Sean’s pretty guitar solo and the whacky slow down at the end.

Drag Me

Probably the biggest outlier on the album and one of the newer tunes. It’s about how I went from being a big fish in a small pond in the country to a small fish in a lake when I moved to the city. It’s an experiment in spoken word, and we have our wonderful producer Steven Schram to thank for making it work.

Tour Dates:

Sat 24 Feb – Karova Lounge, Ballarat

Fri 2 Mar – Corner Hotel, Melbourne

Sat 3 Mar – Republic Bar, Hobart

Thu 8 Mar – Strawberry Boogie @ Wollongong Uni Bar, Wollongong

Fri 9 Mar – Oxford Arts Factory, Sydney

Sat 10 Mar – The Brightside, Brisbane

Fri 16 Mar – Jack Rabbit Slims, Perth

Sat 17Mar – Fat Controller, Adelaide

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