Big Little Lions Are “Alive and Well” with New Nashville Session (premiere)

Following the February release of their brand new album, Alive and Well, Big Little Lions begin their online premiere residency with PopMatters with its title track. Comprised of Helen Austin and Paul Otten, their arrangement soars with a full-bodied richness that some might assume would come from a larger band with their sound. Yet, it’s only this power duo, with Otten holding down the keys and a well-equipped rig of percussive wonder while Austin plays guitar and a well-equipped rig of percussive wonder. Evoking a sort of vigor in the well-mapped harmonies of their melodious work, they certainly live up to the Big Little Lions name.

On “Alive and Well”, Otten tells PopMatters, “This is a jovial tune about superstitions. More to the point, thumbing our noses at superstitions. And while we ignore them, in the end we are still alive and well. It was inspired by a superstition my aunt had about not splitting a pole while walking with someone. My wife and I ran with it and would get on Helen when she blatantly ignored it.”

Meanwhile, Austin dishes on Big Little Lions’ Nashville Sessions video shoot, saying, “All of these videos for the Nashville Sessions were filmed at Mount Monkeymore Studios in Nashville. Nothing went as planned but it ended up all the better for it. We were originally supposed to film two weeks prior, but the video guys bailed, and so we found Jon Grimson last minute to at least shoot some b-roll in Nashville while we had time. We were pretty grumpy about having wasted a lot of the day but ended up having such a good time with Jon that we shuffled things around when we were coming back through Nashville two weeks later and shot this video series.”