Since the release two years ago of their debut album Ready and Willing, Debbi & Jenni Lonmon have gone on to become major trendsetters in this country, their music instantly recognizable on radio, and their live shows sold out across South Africa. Picking up two OKTV awards this year for “Best Rock LP” and “Most Promising New Artist”, they have scored consecutive No. 1 hit singles on both pop and regional stations, rocked the South African media with the unabashed raunchiness of their performances (both live and on film), and are, in short, an unqualified success. These days, when Debbi & Jenni Lonmon walk into a room, people stop and stare!
Ready and Willing carved a niche for Little Sister in South African music, and certainly captured the imagination of our youth – “Dear Abbie” must be noted as one of the most popular ballads ever played here, which despite the initial controversy surrounding it, still receives heavy airplay 2 years later! Still surrounded by controversy, the last single off the album “No Man Shall Fall” was banned by the SABC and showed M-Net viewers just how versatile a grand piano can be!
Two years down the road, it’s a different Little Sister, a more mature and a more sophisticated Little Sister, and their second album (now on One World Entertainment) says it all: More Than Meets the Eye is a very special record that showcases just how far these girls have come.
Destined to capture a far wider audience, the album was recorded at state-of-the-art Bop Recording Studios, and produced by Cedric Gradus Samson, with one song, “Now or Never”, receiving the special attention of Bop Studio director Andre Perrault, whose previous production credits include Heart. Still exhibiting the rock-solid guitar and rhythm work that started Little Sister, More Than Meets the Eye goes on to enhance the vocal partnership that characterizes the group.
The LP kicks off with the anthemic ballad “Stay the Night” co-written by Debbi and Cedric. “Peace on Earth” is the first single, an acoustic number resounding with the soaring harmonies the Lonmons have become renowned for. A message of “peace and love,” this song is a natural for heavy Christmas-time rotation.
Other stand-out tracks include “Now or Never” (appropriately written the night they arrived in Bop to record!), their driving version of Sass Jordan’s “Tell Somebody” and the heart-rending “Love Is Not Enough” – Jenni Lonmon’s voice has never sounded so good!
Little Sister have evolved from a get-down rock ‘n’ roll band who can knock off a good ballad, to one of the TOP South African acts – a strong and focused group that have something to say – and they say it so well!