Little Echo’s 'INDEX': A Powerful PNW Indie-Rock Journey Through Love, Loss, and Landscape
- Dive In Magazine
- 2 days ago
- 3 min read
Review by Allie LaRoe
The albums that stick with me don’t feature record-setting high notes or rhythmic puzzles. On first listen, they come off as elemental, but each time I press play, something new shines through. As much as I love clever songwriting or innovative arrangements, what I really want from music is an emotional experience. That’s exactly what Seattle band, Little Echo’s debut album, INDEX delivers—pulling listeners through an Orphean underworld as it grapples with the waxing and waning of connection.
Little Echo is the brainchild of PNW guitarist and author Patrick Hutchison and singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Matt Badger. In 2016, the two began writing together at Hutchison’s DIY cabin in Index, Washington. Surrounded by old growth and the rugged comfort of his retreat, they started crafting the unwaveringly candid songs that would become INDEX. Over time, the two recruited Kellen Costello on synth and vocals, and James Stone on bass, vocals, and effects, and the four set to work in Badger’s Tacoma garage.
The album opens with an ambient wave of layered electric guitars that crest into the core acoustic melody of “Rising Tide.” Badger sings, “Let the rain wash off my soul / in the light of day nothing can grow,” as the ambling bass line and pattering drums evoke a stormy morning along the coast. It reminds me of a stripped-down Cloud Cult track, humming with a similar organic frenetic-ness. The energy rises into a layer of voices chanting, “Even now I’m still seein’ things / even now,” before returning to the electric guitar and gently fading out, depositing the listener in “Snake Pit,” the second song of the album.
Hutchison’s lead guitar shines, laying down a gauzy web for the ache in Badger’s vocals as he makes his way through an obstacle course of doubt and old hurts, accompanied by a melody that feels tender and reflective. The chorus expands into spacious strumming as Badger’s vocals soften to a tender, if regretful, croon: “Hoped that time would make it better…”
If “Snake Pit” feels like navigating a thorny bramble around the base of an enchanted castle, then “Moon Mirror” is as intoxicating as an alpine midnight. Thick with synths and featuring a highly danceable rhythm, it’s the kind of song that makes you want to spin—drunk on change even as you watch everything familiar slip through your fingers. Mixed by Mike Noyce (Bon Iver), “Moon Mirror” evokes the early aughts in all its gritty, sweaty, vibey glory.
The lush mirage of “Moon Mirror” fades into a sparse, finger-picked guitar for “Little Luck.” Delicate piano weaves into swelling guitar tremolos, highlighting the lonely but cautiously hopeful narrative of the lyrics. The album doesn’t linger too long in this lonesome space, moving on to “To the Champ.” With its baseball-stadium-reminiscent organ and letter-like lyrics, “To the Champ” feels like summer, friendship, and the people who stay on your mind no matter how much time or distance comes between you.
“The Hermit” is an instrumental track that might be my favorite on the album. Hutchison’s guitar gleams like headlights gilding the trees along Highway 2 up to Index. Then, James Stone’s bass comes in—like the comfort of tires gripping the pavement—before Matt Badger’s drums add the spattering of autumn rain. It’s lovely and reflective, with the music expressing something too intangible to fully commit to any other language.
INDEX’s meditation on evolving connection continues with “MOM,” a tribute to the enduring nature of motherly love, which remains with us even when life takes us in unexpected directions. It opens with birdsong, evoking the memory of a sunlit garden—a reprieve before the final song, “Boxcar,” takes us fully underground.
The arrangement mirrors “Rising Tide,” but now we’re on the other side of the wave, facing the loss of a past dragged back to sea. The melody propels you forward, through fallen angels and demons, in an effort to find some absolution. As the chorus breaks open, building to the question, “Hadn’t we had enough of it all?” there is a moment where the song feels almost suspended between fates before Badger’s vocals come back in with a softly determined, “I’m ripping through the wreckage / tryin’ to find my way back.”
INDEX evokes the landscape of the Cascades while reflecting on the evolving bonds between people. This passionate first release from a band that clearly loves making music seeks to explore something real. You can stream INDEX on all major streaming services or order the vinyl here.
