NEWS
TOUR DATES
Listen
You have overshared to a stranger in a bar bathroom; your back is killing you because of everything you haven’t said; you’ve overwatered your houseplants again. Small Million is here for you.
Passenger (Sept 1 2023), the new album from the Portland-based indie-pop outfit on Tender Loving Empire Records, welds deeply affecting sonic production to sharp lyrics about intuition and inhibition; losing control and ending up in unexpected places; being willing to fuck up; bodies hurt and bodies joyful. In the time since the band's last release, years of chronic pain have led lead vocalist and lyricist Malachi Graham to deep explorations of embodiment that have changed everything from her singing voice to her dance moves to her observation of human frailty. “There’s one side of chronic pain that leads you towards intuition, self-discovery, and listening closely to yourself. But it also means you end up sitting on the side of the room a lot, watching people and paying attention,” notes Graham. "Also, you’re pissed." Producer and instrumentalist Ryan Linder centers these intense emotions in his rich textured cinematic production. The effect is both intimate and epic, delicate and fierce. Listen to it to ache, dance to it to heal.
Linder and Graham have been writing as a duo for a decade, but for their newest chapter they've expanded the band, enlisting Ben Tyler (Small Skies) on drums and Kale Chesney (Lo Pony) on bass and harmonies. Small Million's evolution into a four-piece has expanded the band’s sound from their synth pop origins to encompass richer textures, raw indie rock energy, folk inspired harmonies, propulsive drums, and shoegaze fuzz.
Small Million released their debut EP Before the Fall in June 2016, their follow-up, Young Fools, in Fall 2018. They were voted one of Portland’s Best New Bands in Willamette Week in 2023. Passenger is out Sept 1 on Tender Loving Empire Records.
PRESS
“The synthpop duo's sound is innovative and darkly captivating, capable of pulling audiences in with pop-accessible hooks only to keep them around for the scintillating stories and sounds that come with them.”
—PopMatters
"Between the powerhouse vocals that yield fierce, Lucius-level harmonies and the tight instrumentation, Small Million give you plenty to gush over. We’re talking instant, hard-core music crush right here. This pair’s chemistry rivals the likes of fellow Portland bands (Joseph, Sisters) while their energy should appeal to Matt & Kim fans. Their prismatic appeal – as in, their sound dazzles you from every angle – puts them high on our Artists to Watch list."
—The Revue
"Un duo synth-pop a peu de chances de vous laisser de marbre."
—Rolling Stone France
"Graham wails over Linder’s electronic pulses as myriad harmonies swirl on the EP—the juxtaposition is beautifully cohesive, nostalgia-soaked and demurely danceable.."
—Vortex Music Magazine
"In the sparse synths and deeply emotive vocals, the duo found a universal language in their shared love of melody and emotion... [On] Small Million's euphoric debut EP, Before the Fall, you can still hear the Americana-steeped virtuosity in Graham's voice on "Nightblooming" and "Sleep Long," but even at its twangiest, it seems right at home among the twinkling synths and rhythmic loops."
–Willamette Week
