Little King Premiere Their Proudest Achievement, ‘Lente Viviente’

For their latest studio album, Lente Viviente, Little King packs a lot into seven tracks. Proceeding at a brisk 26 minutes in length, the record is a nice check-in from the Tucson, Arizona band, making its point and not overstaying its welcome.

This is Little King’s eighth proper studio release now. It doesn’t fit into a hard category within any particular genre, but you might loosely refer to it as a collection of progressive and hard rock, featuring some juicy hooks. The relative brevity of the songs should not be mistaken for simplicity. Each track has its own complexity to it, with the playing, songwriting, and production standing out as some of the band’s best yet.

They recorded it with a new drummer and a new bass player, and also in a new studio. It’s given new life to the band as they embark on a new chapter.

Discussing the album, singer and guitarist Ryan Rosoff states:

“Welcome to our masterpiece! Well, in our minds and ears, anyway. The Little King team is so proud of this album, and we are grateful to V13 for partnering up to debut this bad boy.

“We put our heart and soul into making Lente Viviente the best it could be. All we ask is that you give it a full ride through the entire 26 minutes, if possible, for the optimum listening experience. Herbal enhancement optional! But these songs function as a set-piece with one building into the next, conscious of their place amongst each other but still maintaining their unique independence.

“Relax, get comfortable, put on your best set of ears, and try to stream this in the best quality possible (Bandcamp or Apple Music ‘Lossless’ will do the trick), and we hope you dig it.”

The goal of Lente Viviente is to give listeners a short but mind-blowing musical adventure. Recorded this past spring at Cimamusic in Tucson, the band sought to create a real dynamic range with this album. They wanted it to have high moments, emotional moments, and maybe get a few fist pumps out of you, too. Lyrically, the album hits on a lot of themes, exploring the relationship between memory and presence, and perception and truth. There are reflections on childhood and lasting friendships, as well as musings on immigration and identity. Some of the songs also consider aging and addiction, and the complicated contrast between strength and vulnerability.

At its roots, Lente Viviente is meant to pose the question of how we see ourselves and each other through the shifting nature of time, emotion, and experience. A lot of it is what we make it out to be. It’s that universal, but also personal touch which makes this a highly relatable listen.

Lente Viviente Track Listing:

1. Catch and Release
2. Dawn Villa
3. Who’s Illegal?
4. Kindness for Weakness
5. Sweet Jessie James
6. Pass Through Filters
7. The Living Lens

Little King ‘Lente Viviente’ album artwork