--- title: "Little Homes" description: "A 2016 LA/SoCal alternative concept album by FEiN: Brandon Woodward and Luke Walton, where alt-rock, funk, hip-hop rhythm, theatrical pop arranging, and social satire turn “little homes” into a map of American denial." year: 2016 releaseDate: 2016-05-31 releaseType: album artist: "FEiN" artistId: "#fein" artworkBy: "Sarah Oh" spotify: "https://open.spotify.com/album/2xWtW9VwcaoHkS7FnIJfaQ" apple: "https://music.apple.com/us/album/little-homes/1111956961" discogs: "https://www.discogs.com/release/19394809-FEiN-Little-Homes" tracks: - { title: "American Man", song: american-man, duration: "4:35", session: "Luke Walton, oil can percussion, synth programming" } - { title: "Sculptor", song: sculptor, duration: "3:56", session: "Brandon Woodward, cabasa, oil can percussion" } - { title: "Girl You Can't Hide It", song: girl-you-cant-hide-it, duration: "3:23", session: "Justin Klunk, alto, tenor, baritone saxophone" } - { title: "Outro", song: outro, duration: "1:27" } - { title: "#Grownupz", song: grownupz, duration: "3:42", session: "Brandon Woodward, bass" } - { title: "Goodness Gracious", song: goodness-gracious, duration: "3:47" } - { title: "Creatures", song: creatures, duration: "4:19", session: "Peter Lee Johnson, violin" } - { title: "Intro", instrumental: true, duration: "0:44", session: "Justin Klunk, baritone saxophone", song: little-homes-intro } - { title: "Twenty-Three", song: twenty-three, duration: "5:57", session: "Luke Walton, percussion, Wurlitzer, synth programming" } - { title: "Don't You", song: dont-you, duration: "7:09", session: "Brandon Woodward, guitar, keyboards, found percussion · Luke Walton, keyboards, found percussion · Amaire Johnson, piano · Peter Lee Johnson, violin" } - { title: "Roadtrip", song: roadtrip, duration: "3:41" } - { title: "Lonely People", song: lonely-people, duration: "3:41" } - { title: "Pretty Things", song: pretty-things, duration: "4:40" } - { title: "Blanket", song: blanket, duration: "3:38" } - { title: "All Her Books", song: all-her-books, duration: "4:30" } - { title: "Crawl", song: crawl, duration: "4:20", session: "Brandon Woodward, guitar" } press: - outlet: "MusicBrainz: Little Homes" url: "https://musicbrainz.org/release/027f0f16-490f-42da-ae8d-6ac80d7defcc" desc: "Official release · barcode 859717278758 · 2016-05-31 worldwide." - outlet: "FEiN Times Issue #3 — liner credits (primary)" url: "https://lukefwalton.com/albums/little-homes-fein/#liner-credits" date: "2016-05-31" desc: "Zine-wrap credits on May 31, 2016 CD: Walton/Woodward (BMI) · Tiny Giant · Christofi at LMU · Rosato at Woodcliff · full personnel + special thanks." - outlet: "Discogs: Little Homes (CD)" url: "https://www.discogs.com/release/19394809-FEiN-Little-Homes" date: "2016-05-31" desc: "US CD (Not On Label): Tiny Giant recorded · LMU engineered · Woodcliff mixed/mastered (Frank Rosato); FEiN Times Issue #3 zine wrap; per-track session credits; special thanks Gregg Bissonette." - outlet: "BMI: Indie Spotlight: FEiN" url: "https://www.bmi.com/news/entry/indie_spotlight_fein" date: "2016-09-14" desc: "Authoritative songwriter-registry feature: sixteen-song concept LP; Pixies, Nile Rodgers, and St. Vincent; “#Grownupz” at #4 on Spotify U.S. Viral 50, 500k+ streams." - outlet: "Early FEiN interview: us then (YouTube)" url: "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IMbCaso2O3w" desc: "Little Homes–era snapshot: Walton and Woodward on camera before the LP fully landed, defining moment for the duo on record." - outlet: "Liminal: 360º Live at KCRW" url: "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQgVgA60rjs" desc: "FEiN performing “Liminal.” Joined by Ryan McDiarmid (drums), Geo Botelho (bass). Audio mastered by Riley Knapp." - outlet: "Stupid Forever: 360º Live at KCRW" url: "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GrFmJEINXNU" desc: "FEiN performing “Stupid Forever.” Joined by Ryan McDiarmid (drums), Geo Botelho (bass). Audio mastered by Riley Knapp." - outlet: "Glamglare" url: "https://www.glamglare.com/tag/music/page/199/" date: "2016-03" desc: "Early 2016 lead-in to the May full-length; Queen-like arrangement logic, early MGMT vibe." - outlet: "FEiN Times (Issue #1): Recording Journal" url: "https://lukefwalton.com/songs/monay-grabba/" date: "2014-08-25" desc: "Primary band statement: money theme; Monay Grabba + #Grownupz debut; LMU drum sessions with Michael Christofi; fourteen-hour day → Little Homes; mobile tracking; Frank Rosato mix." - outlet: "Music Connection — NMC Artist of the Week (Sep 2014)" url: "https://lukefwalton.com/songs/monay-grabba/" date: "2014-09-26" desc: "New Artist of the Week · 8.0 · #Grownupz + Monay Grabba · archivist proof: /evidence/fein-music-connection-artist-of-week-sep-2014.png" - outlet: "Music Connection — Top 25 New Music Critiques (2014 year-end)" url: "https://lukefwalton.com/songs/monay-grabba/" date: "2015-01-11" desc: "FEiN Times Issue #1 · FEiN 8.0 · feintimes.com · archivist proof: /evidence/fein-music-connection-top-25-2014.png" - outlet: "FEiN Facebook — Tiny Giant back door install (Feb 2015)" url: "https://lukefwalton.com/albums/little-homes-fein/" date: "2015-02-18" desc: "Luke Walton broke big toe in two places installing soundproofed back door at Tiny Giant Recording · archivist proof: /evidence/fein-tiny-giant-back-door-toe-xray.png" - outlet: "Archive Q&A: FEiN (Little Homes era)" url: "https://lukefwalton.com/interviews/fein-qa-little-homes-era/" date: "2016" desc: "Pre-LP Walton/Woodward interview (original outlet lost): song-a-month rollout, collaboration series, house-river ideal set, Taj Ma-Small, robotic-toilet gig story." - outlet: "Fresh Beats 365 — *Little Little Homes* EP review (Mar 2016)" url: "https://freshbeats365.com/2016/03/10/fein-little-little-homes-ep-review/" date: "2016-03-10" desc: "Tom Roden: melancholy indie-electropop teaser for May LP; Sculptor · #Grownupz · Outro vocal morphing; Foster The People/Torches comparison." - outlet: "Fresh Beats 365 — FEiN interview (Apr 2016)" url: "https://freshbeats365.com/2016/04/09/fein-interview/" date: "2016-04-09" desc: "Tom Roden Q&A: *Tellin' stories, making cool sounds and shit* · #Grownupz Spotify activity → *Little Little Homes* teaser · *Sculptor* · *Don't You* as sound summary · headphone mix · DBSRDS." draft: false --- *Little Homes* is the full-length FEiN statement: the moment the LA / SoCal duo version of the project becomes legible as more than a clever indie band. Concept album, social satire, maximal arrangement brain, two lead voices, and a theatrical pop-rock/funk thing that does not fit cleanly into the mid-2010s indie bucket. **FEiN, the Los Angeles indie duo of Luke Walton and Brandon Woodward** (Luke Francis Walton on songwriter credits), pronounced “fine.” Canonical hub: [/music/fein/](/music/fein/). [BMI](https://www.bmi.com/news/entry/indie_spotlight_fein) describes them as a SoCal alternative duo hatched at USC’s [Thornton School of Music](https://music.usc.edu/) Popular Music Performance program, then producing and engineering from **Tiny Giant Recording** in Westlake Village. **Genesis ([FEiN Times Issue #1](/songs/monay-grabba/), Aug 2014):** The inaugural zine's *Recording Journal* introduces the project's first two songs, [*Monay Grabba*](/songs/monay-grabba/) and [*#Grownupz*](/songs/grownupz/), on a **money** theme. Walton and Woodward wrote them in practice rooms, Venice and Downtown apartments, walks to Which Wich, a *little home in Westlake*, and voice notes in LA traffic, between Rick and Morty, Death Note, and word-play jokes. Tracking began at **LMU** with friend/engineer **Michael Christofi**: an EP in mind, drums first. One fourteen-hour day of drum experiments and extra catalog songs later, as the journal puts it, *Little Homes was born.* Brandon was tired. Mobile recording followed (apartments, practice rooms, laptops on chairs); **[Frank Rosato](/with/frank-rosato/)** mixed. The title phrase appears in the journal before the LP existed. **Tiny Giant Recording (Westlake Village):** The *little home in Westlake* made physical — FEiN's home studio where [*Little Homes*](/albums/little-homes-fein/) and the Tiny Giant session lane were tracked. [Discogs](https://www.discogs.com/release/19394809-FEiN-Little-Homes) special thanks: **Bob Miller and John Rupe** (for building Tiny Giant). Indexed **Feb 18, 2015** FEiN Facebook post (archivist proof: [/evidence/fein-tiny-giant-back-door-toe-xray.png](/evidence/fein-tiny-giant-back-door-toe-xray.png)): Luke Walton broke his **big toe in two places** installing a very heavy **soundproofed back door**; caption *Installing the back door didn't go as planned. RIP Luke's big toe.* — X-ray annotated *OW.* (*Westlake V* imaging). The live room that later hosts [J.VEN](/songs/holding-on-jven/) sessions, *Little Homes* tracking, and [Fresh Fruit](/songs/fresh-fruit/) was literally under construction. **Physical release ([Discogs](https://www.discogs.com/release/19394809-FEiN-Little-Homes) · [**liner credits (primary)**](#liner-credits)):** US **CD, Album, Stereo** · **Not On Label** · **May 31, 2016** · Rock / Pop · Alternative Rock, Indie Rock. The **FEiN Times Issue #3** eight-page zine wrap carries the authoritative credit block below (Discogs and SoundCloud metadata align). Studio chain: **produced by FEiN** · **recorded by FEiN at Tiny Giant Recording** · **additional engineering by Michael Christofi at LMU** · **mixed and mastered by Frank Rosato at Woodcliff Studios** · **zine cover/layout and album art by [Sarah Oh](https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarah-o/)**. **All songs by Walton/Woodward (BMI).** The CD shipped as *information about the album and a collage of “art, lyrics, and various musings from us and our friends”* — with zine art from Auberi Zwickel, Brian Levy, Haewon Lee, John Cat, Lia Woodward, Margo Camille, Marycruz Herrera, Michael Hermann, Tiffany Chang, and others. Matrix runout: `FEIN LITTLE HOMES F1 CD` · `SM1/CA` · `0220-0820`.

Liner credits (FEiN Times Issue #3)

**Personnel (from zine wrap):** **Brandon Woodward** — vocals, drums, percussion, guitar (*Don't You*, *Crawl*), bass ([*#Grownupz*](/songs/grownupz/)), keyboards (*Don't You*), drum and synth programming, oil can/cabasa ([*Sculptor*](/songs/sculptor/)), found percussion on *Don't You* (beer bottle, parfait cup, water glass, metal pipe), claps. **Luke Walton** — vocals, guitars, Wurlitzer ([*Twenty-Three*](/songs/twenty-three/)), keyboards (*Don't You*), synth programming, oil can (*American Man*, *Twenty-Three*), found percussion on *Don't You* (sliding glass door, car keys, coins), claps. **[Brian Robert Jones](/with/brian-robert-jones/)** — bass (album). **[Peter Lee Johnson](/with/peter-lee-johnson/)** — violin ([*Creatures*](/songs/creatures/), *Don't You*). **[Amaire Johnson](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amaire_Johnson)** — piano (*Don't You*; later Big Sean producer/keyboardist · Musicians Institute, LA from 2012). **[Justin Klunk](/with/justin-klunk/)** — alto/tenor sax ([*Girl You Can't Hide It*](/songs/girl-you-cant-hide-it/)), bari sax (*Girl You Can't Hide It*, [*Intro*](/songs/little-homes-intro/)). **Special thanks (full liner list):** The Walton Family · The Woodward Family · **[Frank Rosato](/with/frank-rosato/)** · all friends who played on the record · **Michael Christofi** · Sarah Oh · **Bob Miller and John Rupe** (for building Tiny Giant) · Merissa Kado · Abbott's Habit (Venice, CA) · Moonlight Beach (Encinitas, CA) · Starbucks (Westlake Village, CA) · **University of Southern California** · **Chris Sampson** · **[Patrice Rushen](/with/patrice-rushen/)** · Rick Schmunk · **[Lamont Dozier](/with/lamont-dozier/)** · Andrea Stolpe · Ndugu Chancler · Aaron Serfaty · **[Gregg Bissonette](/with/gregg-bissonette/)** (Woodward's high-school drum teacher — acknowledgment, not a performance credit) · Tim Kobza · Richard Smith · Andy Abad · Will Hollis · Jeff Moore · Charles Dickinson · Ken Batchelor · Kirsten Matt · Ory Brochet · Joe Zenas · Amy Huang · Shabnam Ferdowsi · all zine content contributors. Per-track session credits are also indexed on the tracklist below and on individual song pages. The album landed **May 31, 2016**. [Apple Music](https://music.apple.com/us/album/little-homes/1111956961) lists it as Alternative · 2016 · sixteen songs · about sixty-three minutes · ℗ 2016 Unsigned; [Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/album/2xWtW9VwcaoHkS7FnIJfaQ) matches the sixteen-track LP. The [**Little Little Homes**](https://freshbeats365.com/2016/03/10/fein-little-little-homes-ep-review/) teaser EP arrived first (**Mar 2016**): [Fresh Beats 365](https://freshbeats365.com/2016/03/10/fein-little-little-homes-ep-review/) (**Mar 10, 2016**, Tom Roden) called it *FEiN's new EP is a big success* — melancholy indie-electropop in the Foster The People *Torches* lane, with [*Sculptor*](/songs/sculptor/) as image-obsessed social commentary, [*#Grownupz*](/songs/grownupz/) as bubblegum indie-pop, and [*Outro*](/songs/outro/) as the release's most experimental vocal-morphing soundscape. [*#Grownupz*](/songs/grownupz/) broke early in 2016 ahead of the full release. [Glamglare](https://www.glamglare.com/tag/music/page/199/) covered the pre-release run in March, calling the May album a “sixteen-song epic journey.” Two weeks later Walton and Woodward's FEiN topline landed on [**Embody**](/with/embody/) (Karolis Labanauskas)'s [*Remember Us*](/songs/remember-us/) (**June 16**, Armada Deep / Netherlands). [BMI’s Indie Spotlight](https://www.bmi.com/news/entry/indie_spotlight_fein) is the cleanest external framing: a sixteen-song journey through **homelessness, cosmetic surgery, gun worship, and metaphysics**, with influences named as Pixies, Nile Rodgers, and St. Vincent and the record blending alt-rock, hip-hop, and funk. “Sculptor” reads as haunting and intense; “Girl You Can’t Hide It” carries pulsing electronica in an early Depeche Mode register. **#Grownupz** was the viral single: BMI reports it entered Spotify’s U.S. Viral 50 at #4 and passed half a million streams across services by their September 2016 spotlight. That is the FEiN-era proof that theatrical satire could travel as pop. [Official music video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Usz0siRteGI). The title does conceptual work. “Home” here is not a cozy object. It is the private shelter people use to avoid seeing the social world clearly: family, money, guns, religion, bodies, addiction, homelessness, respectability, shame, suburban denial. The album maps the tiny moral rooms people build around themselves and what gets excluded. Where it sits relative to Scoobert: **FEiN Times** / early FEiN is band-as-newspaper art-pop shell (Issue #1: comics, horoscopes, games, handmade music); **Little Homes** is the concept album that grew out of the first LMU sessions (social satire, maximal arrangements, two-voice duo identity). Scoobert Doobert later mutates the same melodic and arrangement brain into a more personal, self-mythologizing bedroom-pop universe (masks, beaches, koans). FEiN is already on the American social stage: the grown-up performance, the household, the body, the gun, the wallet, the church screen, the lonely person outside the “little home.” Press comparisons stay scattered on purpose (Queen-like logic, MGMT, Depeche Mode, Pixies/Nile/St. Vincent) because the real thing is arranged, theatrical, genre-sliding pop-rock with funk rhythm and concept-album intent: two USC-trained musicians smuggling composition-school ambition into indie-pop packaging. Worth keeping on the record: an [early FEiN interview on YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IMbCaso2O3w), **us then**, Thornton/Tiny Giant energy, the duo before *Little Homes* became the anchor release. ![Luke Walton and Brandon Woodward of FEiN after the ALS ice bucket challenge (~2014)](/evidence/fein-luke-brandon-ice-bucket-challenge.png) Archivist photo above — soaking wet, combs-forward hair, post-dunk grins. More band photos: [/press-kit/#photos](/press-kit/#photos) · [/music/fein/#photos](/music/fein/#photos). [**Fresh Beats 365**](https://freshbeats365.com/2016/04/09/fein-interview/) (**Apr 9, 2016**, Tom Roden) — *“Tellin’ stories, making cool sounds and shit”* — is the strongest indexed print Q&A: USC pop-music carpool origin, sudden **#Grownupz** Spotify activity as the reason for the [*Little Little Homes*](/albums/little-homes-fein/) teaser EP, sixteen-track headphone mix intent, and Luke/Brandon on [*Sculptor*](/songs/sculptor/) (LA entertainment-industry body image) and [*Don't You*](/songs/dont-you/) as the song that best summarizes FEiN's sound (*doors, car keys, beer bottles* as found percussion). Site-held twin: [FEiN Q&A (Little Homes era)](/interviews/fein-qa-little-homes-era/). **360° at [KCRW Studios](https://www.kcrw.com/):** [*Liminal*: 360º live](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQgVgA60rjs) · [*Stupid Forever*: 360º live](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GrFmJEINXNU), Walton and Woodward joined by **Ryan McDiarmid** (drums) and **Geo Botelho** (bass); session audio mastered by **Riley Knapp**. Drag the view around. Song-meaning annotations live for every lyric track — [**1–7**](/songs/american-man/), [**Twenty-Three**](/songs/twenty-three/) through [**Crawl**](/songs/crawl/) (16); track eight [*Intro*](/songs/little-homes-intro/) is **instrumental** (no lyrics page). Listen: [Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/album/2xWtW9VwcaoHkS7FnIJfaQ) · [Apple Music](https://music.apple.com/us/album/little-homes/1111956961) · [Discogs: CD release](https://www.discogs.com/release/19394809-FEiN-Little-Homes) · [FEiN on Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/artist/4LJfnGBABdrlnlVpiM2qvW) · [With Frank Rosato](/with/frank-rosato/) · [Us then, early interview](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IMbCaso2O3w) · [Liminal: KCRW 360º](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQgVgA60rjs) · [Stupid Forever: KCRW 360º](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GrFmJEINXNU) · [feintimes.com](http://www.feintimes.com/)