Small Sins are a sinful pop delight

Small Sins is the product of Thomas D’Arcy’s frustrations with operating in the pseudo-democracy of a traditional band.

After he left The Carnations in 2004, he recorded a bedroom record of dream-like pop songs on his own. Then known as The Ladies and Gentlemen, the record quickly caught fire in Canada and D’Arcy found himself leading a five-piece band on tours across the country.

“It was always just supposed to be a studio project,” he says, on the phone from Toronto. “I work so much more efficiently alone.”

D’Arcy quickly found the hushed whisper of his synthesizer-based tunes rather boring to replicate live as the band developed a much harder rock edge for their shows.

Small Sins released their second record Mood Swings and the separate eight-song The Mellow EP at the end of September. Although D’Arcy says he tried to make the record sound more like the live show, Kevin “The Clapper” Hilliard is one element of Small Sins that cannot be captured on tape. His manic hand claps and sporadic synthesizer blips make him Flavor Flav to D’Arcy’s Chuck D.

“He’s the number one cheerleader,” says D’Arcy. “He still doesn’t know how to use his gear.”

This article originally appeared in the October 18, 2007 issue of The Coast.