Kevin Bronson on January 16th, 2013

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At this stage of their career, the Little Ones couldn’t be blamed for being grumpy old men – well, at least middle-aged ones, by indie-rock standards. They’ve been signed to two labels and dropped by two labels and watched while bands with similar aesthetics (and lesser songs, in some opinions) became indie darlings. But damned if their new album “The Dawn Sang Along” doesn’t sound a little bit like Paul Simon on a sugar high. As he has done dating back to his days in Sunday’s Best, singer Ed Reyes still aims for the sky, boyish and smiling and high on the higher registers, and in concert with his brother Brian and band mates Ian Moreno, Lee LaDouceur, Kevin Lenhart and Ryan Wilson, the sextet dishes out bright melodies and tropical rhythms. The David Newton-produced album is the band’s first outing since the summer of 2008, and as “Forro” (which premiered today on KCRW’s blog) indicates, the Feb. 12 release of “The Dawn Sang Along” is a sure sign of an early spring.

||| Download: “Forro”

||| Stream: “AWOL”

||| Previously: “Argonauts”

||| Live: The Little Ones celebrate their album release with a show Feb. 8 at the Echo.