Oklahoma rock quintet Horse Thief will be releasing their second album for Bella Union, titled Trials and Truths on January 27. Today they premiere “Little One,” a perfectly-compact nugget of deftly-written guitar pop.

Along with producer Thom Monahan (Devendra Banhart, Vetiver), bandleader Cameron Neal has crafted an impressive collection of tracks on their sophomore LP. It is the sound of a band coming together after spending a year and a half together on the road with groups like Midlake and The Felice Brothers. Bonding over endless months on the road proved to be a powerful influence in the creation of the record.

Another factor in the quality of Trials and Truths is the amount of time the group had to work through the creative process. Whereas their first record was a quickly-recorded and released affair, the band had more time to tinker with these songs. The results are positive, with Neal calling the 10-song effort “closer to the sound that we want” than its predecessor.

On “Little One,” Cameron Neal’s pleasant Southern lilt is accompanied by a simple but highly-effective chorus melody; mix in the verse’s crystalline guitar tones and a toe-tapping tempo, and it is a recipe for success. Described by Neal as “a weird love song,” it is about falling madly in love with someone you don’t know – a fairly common occurrence in this world of Social Media ubiquity.

The band has some powerful allies in their fellow Oklahomans The Flaming Lips, who introduced the band to Bella Union. Horse Thief formed when Neal met Cody Fowler (bass), Alberto Roubert (drums, percussion), Zach Zeller (organ, keys, guitar) and Alex Coleman (guitar, keys) at the Academy of Contemporary Music in Oklahoma.

Trials and Truths Tracklist

Another Youth
Difference
Drowsy
Empire
Falling For You
Evil’s Rising
Little One
Mountain Town
Million Dollars
Santa Fe