Kevin Bronson on January 16th, 2020

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Little Dume make sleek modern rock that’s as pristine as the vistas on their home turf of Malibu. Awash in the atmospherics of arena production, the songs on their debut EP, “Waking Up,” are the stuff of dreams, theirs and others’, with outsized choruses crafted to burn off melancholy like the marine layer.

“To us, this EP makes us feel light, warm and ready all at the same time,” singer David Sandborg says. “These songs come from an honest place, and to be frank, some sad places.”

Sundborg, bassist brother Dane Sandborg and longtime friends James Burnett (guitar) and Wesley Ritenour (drums), who’ve been playing together since they were teenagers, have been working at their craft for a while. Burnett’s songwriting credits include a track for the 2016 album by “The Voice’s” Jordan Smith. David Sandborg has written for Kygo, Rome and Social Club Misfit; his brother Dane has toured with Red Hot Chili Peppers and AWOLNATION; and Ritenour drummed for his father Lee. The quartet first gained attention with the 2018 single “Dangerous Man.”

The stories they tell on “Waking Up” ring with certain poignancy. Notable is “That Could Be Me,” a paean to those less fortunate: “There’s a kid on the street with no money in his pocket / There’s a dream in his head for so long he never lost it / He waits for his time / Sees it all in his mind,” Sandborg sings.

The glossy title track is a dramatic ode to the Sandborgs’ grandfather, Frank Ulf, and his “relationship to reality and his sweet dreams,” David explains. “In his last moments, he would tell me that when he went to sleep he’d be 20 again, running, dancing, living his best life with his wife, my grandma. The overall theme is to live with no regrets.”

“Waking Up” is out on Friday.

||| Stream: “Waking Up” in its entirety