Today, June 10th, Iron & Wine returns with a vibrant new single, “Robin’s Egg” which features the three-part harmonies of I’m With Her. I’m With Her is comprised of Sarah Jarosz, Aoife O’Donovan, and Sara Watkins - each individual stars in their own right – whom just released a brand new record, Wild and Clear and Blue, last month to critical acclaim and praise. The two bands will be joining forces this July for a series of shows and “Robin’s Egg” serves as a highlight to what should be an anything-goes, cross-collaborating evening of music.
The forthcoming tour takes its name from said track and is the perfect pollination of each band’s signature style. Not too sweet, not too spicy, perfect for summer days. The track was written and produced by Iron & Wine’s creative force and principal singer-songwriter, Sam Beam, and is an early preview of the band’s still-in-the-making forthcoming record.
Of the song, Beam said: “I had the start of ‘Robin’s Egg’ kicking around and began finishing the tune earlier this year with I’m With Her in mind. We had already started to plan our summer tour together; I passed it to them with the hope they were up for adding their voices to it and lucky for me they were! I’m looking forward to performing it, and a few other surprises, with them this summer.”
You can watch the official music video, animated and created by Lizi Breit, here.
Iron & Wine have maintained an active touring schedule since the release of 2024’s Grammy-nominated Light Verse. The Robin’s Egg Tour begins in July and ends with both bands triumphantly returning to the Newport Folk Festival stage, where anything can, and often does, happen!
Iron & Wine will continue to tour through the end of the year with a series of festival plays and a co-headline west coast run with former labelmates and longtime friends, Band of Horses. See below for a complete list of dates.
Sat. Jul. 05 - Orilla, ON - Mariposa Folk Festival Mon. Jul. 07 - Viroqua, WI - Historic Temple Theatre of Viroqua ~ Tues. Jul. 08 - Bayfield, WI - Lake Superior Big Top Chautauqua ~ Thu. Jul. 10 - Interlochen, MI - Interlochen Center for the Arts * ^ Fri. Jul. 11 - Cincinnati, OH - Taft Theatre * ^ Sat. Jul. 12 - Asheville, NC - Asheville Yards Amphitheater * ^ Sun. Jul. 13 - Cary, NC - Koka Booth Amphitheatre * ^ Tue. Jul. 15 - Vienna, VA - Filene Center at Wolf Trap * Thu. Jul. 17 - Halifax, Nova Scotia - Halifax Jazz Festival Sat. Jul 19 - Portland, ME - Thompson’s Point * ^ Sun. Jul. 20 - Burlington, VT - The Green at Shelburne Museum * ^ Mon. Jul 21 - Northampton, MA - The Pines Theater at Look Park * ^ Wed. Jul. 23 - Richmond, VA - Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden * ^ Thu. Jul. 24 - Glenside, PA - Keswick Theatre * ^ Fri. Jul. 25 - LaFayette, NY - Beak & Skiff Apple Orchards * ^ Sat. Jul. 26 - Newport, RI - Newport Folk Festival - SOLD OUT Sat. Sep 6 - Evanston, IL - Evanston Folk Festival Fri. Sep. 12 - Louisville, KY - Bourbon & Beyond Thu. Sep. 18 - Seattle, WA - Marymoor Park # Fri. Sep. 19 - Eugene, OR - The Cuthbert Amphitheater # Sat. Sep. 20 - Portland, OR - McMenamins Grand Lodge # Mon. Sep. 22 - Saratoga, CA - The Mountain Winery # Tue. Sep. 23 - San Francisco, CA - The Warfield # Wed. Sep. 24 - Los Angeles, CA - The Wiltern # Fri. Sep. 26 - Del Mar, CA - The Sound at Del Mar # Sat. Sep. 27 - Las Vegas, NV - Bel-Aire Backyard # Sun. Sep 28 - Chandler, AZ - Gila River Resorts & Casinos - Wild Horse Pass # Tue. Sep. 30 - Flagstaff, AZ - Pepsi Amphitheater # Thu. Oct. 2 - Anaheim, CA - House of Blues Anaheim # Fri. Oct. 3 - Santa Barbara, CA - The Arlington Theatre #
* co-headline with I’m With Her # co-headline with Band of Horses ~ support by Elizabeth Moen ^ support by Ken Pomeroy
“Robin’s Egg” follows the 2024 acclaimed release of Light Verse, which features the Grammy-nominated duet with Fiona Apple, “All in Good Time.” The album received accolades from Uncut, Mojo, Clash and NPR New Music Friday who shared “my favorite moments on the album are where you hear those studio dynamics, where the quiet erupts into this chamber ensemble piece with these big shifting movements… it can go from everything from somber to nearly euphoric in its run, and I love that about it.”
Praise for Iron & Wine Light Verse: “A collection of songs bursting with surprises, reflecting the optimism of the album’s title, and a songwriter rejuvenated.” 8/10 - Uncut
“It’s magnificent… It starts hushed and intimate (You Never Know), then as the band gradually comes in, it takes on a beautiful lushness throughout. Highlights include the lovely harmonies on Tears That Don’t Matter and All in Good Time, a soulful, churchy duet with Fiona Apple.” ★★★★ - MOJO
“Gorgeous… Iron & Wine proves he still has much to say in a hypnotic record full of lush production, highlighting the warmth and timelessness of his vocals.” 8/10 - CLASH
“Stunning… an album that straddles Iron & Wine’s earlier, stripped-down work and his later, more layered tunes. The gorgeous Sweet Talk and All in Good Time are particularly reminiscent of the former, while Tears That Don’t Matter is Beam at his most dynamically majestic.” ★★★★ - Record Collector
“Quirky yet profound, playful but often deeply moving… The ten tracks on Light Verse glow with the a rejuvenated joy and infectious creative energy.” 8/10 - The Line of Best Fit
“Beam has done this kind of thing before, but he seems to be digging a little deeper lyrically here, while crafting arrangements that are truly lush and lovely, better than any on previous Iron & Wine albums. That’s a high bar, but he soars over it with plenty of room to spare, and in the end Light Verse turns out to be one of the most enjoyable, varied, and well-crafted of the band’s records.” ★★★★ - All Music
“This time Beam worked alongside a handful of Los Angeles-based musicians and producer Dave Way (John Doe, Macy Gray) in his Laurel Canyon studio, and the bones of the songs on Light Verse are both looser and more freely experimental, often conjuring up a more ramshackle version of the layered psych-pop elements of 2007’s The Shepherd’s Dog.” - No Depression
Today, June 4th, Frankie Cosmos has shared an official video for the album opener, “Pressed Flower,” off the group’s forthcoming long-player, Different Talking, available worldwide on June 27th. Directed by Adam Kolodny, the video stars comedy icon Tracey Ullman alongside the band and others.
Frankie Cosmos’s frontperson, Greta Kline, shares, “It’s a dream come true to have Tracey Ullman star in this video. She’s the funniest person I know, and brings love, depth, and care to every character she plays. Getting to play dress-up with her and find this Manhattanite havoc-wreaker character was a blast. The Director, Adam Kolodny, brought the perfect framework to our crazy concept. This song, for me, is about figuring out who you are, moving on while looking back, and feeling the effects of memories on locations. The video is about someone running around NYC in a disguise, causing a chaotic chain of events for the locals (played by my band).”
Different Talking is the band’s sixth and, so far, best album. It’s a collection of fragments and memories, remembered places, and reinterpreted feelings that adds up to a lucent, humming whole: a sturdy, worldly indie-rock record about aging and the passage of time that nonetheless manages to feel sharply current.
The current configuration of Frankie Cosmos features Greta Kline, Alex Bailey, Katie Von Schleicher, and Hugo Stanley. Kline is the only constant, but Stanley, Bailey, and Von Schleicher are crucial collaborators, and to use the names “Greta Kline” and “Frankie Cosmos” interchangeably would be incorrect. Kline remains the primary songwriter, and the band arranges the music on Different Talking as a whole; however, this is the first album to be self-tracked by the unit, with no external studio producers.
“Pressed Flower” follows the previously released singles “Bitch Heart” and “Vanity” which Stereogum described as “…bigger and more complex than most of what we’ve heard from Frankie Cosmos in the past, without sacrificing the innate warm, DIY quality of Kline’s songwriting.”
The band has announced a World Tour, with the North American dates beginning on September 3 and running through October 25. Fantasy Of A Broken Heart and Moontype will support the first leg, from September 3 to September 20, and Chris Cohen & Emily Yacina will support the second leg, from October 9 to October 25. The band will then return to the UK and EU for 7 shows with Babehoven on main support. See below for a complete list of shows.
North America: Sat. Jul. 26 - Teulon, MB - Real Love Summer Fest Wed. Sep. 3 - Kingston, NY - Tubby’s # Thu. Sep. 4 - Philadelphia, PA - Underground Arts # Fri. Sep. 5 - Washington, DC - Black Cat # Sat. Sep. 6 - Asheville, NC - Eulogy # Mon. Sep. 8 - Atlanta, GA - The Earl # Tue. Sep. 9 - Nashville, TN - Blue Room # Thu. Sep. 11 - Madison, WI - High Noon Saloon # Fri. Sep. 12 - Minneapolis, MN - Varsity # Sat. Sep. 13 - Chicago, IL - Thalia Hall # Sun. Sep. 14 - Detroit, MI - El Club # Mon. Sep. 15 - Toronto, Canada - Great Hall # Tue. Sep. 16 - Montreal, Canada - Bar le Ritz # Thu. Sep. 18 - Portland, ME - Space Gallery # Fri. Sep. 19 - Boston, MA - Brighton Music Hall # Sat. Sep. 20 - Brooklyn, NY - Music Hall of Williamsburg # Thu. Oct. 9 - Santa Ana, CA - Constellation Room @ Fri. Oct. 10 - San Diego, CA - Quartyard @ Sat. Oct. 11 - Pioneertown, CA - Pappy & Harriets Pioneertown @ Mon. Oct. 13 - Salt Lake City, UT - Soundwell @ Tue. Oct 14 - Boise, ID - Shrine Social Club @ Fri. Oct. 17 - Seattle, WA - The Crocodile @ Sat. Oct. 18 - Tacoma, WA - The Spanish Ballroom @ Sun. Oct. 19 - Portland, OR - Wonder Ballroom @ Tue. Oct. 21 - Sacramento, CA - Harlow’s @ Wed. Oct. 22 - San Francisco, CA - Great American Music Hall @ Thu. Oct. 23 - Santa Cruz, CA - Catalyst Club Atrium @ Fri. Oct. 24 - Ojai, CA - Deer Lodge @ Sat. Oct. 25 - Los Angeles, CA - Teragram Ballroom @
UK/EU Sat. Nov. 15 - Dublin, IE - Button Factory $ Mon. Nov. 17 - Manchester, UK - YES (Pink Room) $ Tue. Nov. 18 - London, UK - Electric Brixton $ Fri. Nov. 21 - Paris, FR - Maroquinerie $ Sat. Nov. 22 - Amsterdam, NL - Bitterzoet Sun. Nov. 23 - Brussels, BE - Botanique $ Tue. Nov. 25 - Berlin, DE - Lido $ # Fantasy Of A Broken Heart & Moontype @ w/ Chris Cohen & Emily Yacina $ w/ Babehoven
Different Talking is now available to pre-order on vinyl/CD/digital formats from Sub Pop. A Loser Edition LP on Opaque Red is available through the Sub Pop Mega Mart (North America) and White Vinyl via the Mega Mart 2 (UK/EU), and your local record store
Tracklisting: 1. Pressed Flower 2. One of Each 3. Against the Grain 4. Bitch Heart 5. Porcelain 6. One! Grey! Hair! 7. Vanity 8. Not Long 9. Margareta 10. Your Take On 11. High Five Handshake 12. You Become 13. Joyride 14. Tomorrow 15. Wonderland 16. Life Back 17. Pothole
On August 15th, 2025, Bret McKenzie will return with Freak Out City, his forthcoming sophomore album worldwide from Sub Pop.
In 2022, Bret released Songs Without Jokes, his well-received solo debut for Sub Pop. His new album, Freak Out City, is a fresh collection of songs he developed while performing live across New Zealand and the United States with his eight-piece band The State Highway Wonders. The influence of his musical heroes Harry Nilsson and Randy Newman resonates again on this record, where Bret playfully weaves humour and heart into his songs.
Recorded in both Los Angeles and New Zealand, the album was co-produced by Bret and his long-time collaborator, Mickey Petralia. It was also mixed by Michael Harris at East West Studios and mastered by Ruairi O’Flaherty at Nomograph Mastering in Los Angeles. The musicians on the record are a mix of LA-based players Leland Sklar, Dean Parks, Drew Erickson, Chris Caswell, and Joey Waronker, as well as New Zealand musicians Ben Lemi, Leo Coghini, Jacqui Nyman, Moana Leota, Iris Little, and Justin Clarke.
Freak Out City features the singles “Shouldna Come Here Tonight,” the title track “Freak Out City”, and today’s offering, “All I Need.”
Bret says of “All I Need”:“This is a love song for my wife, Hannah. We’ve been together a long time. We always love each other, but let’s be honest, there are days we love each other more than other days. This song was from one of those days when we were especially in love.
“It started on the piano with the chorus. From the very beginning, I could hear the horn stabs and the band sound in my head. I loved the chorus so much I started performing the song live before I’d finished the verses.
“I remember around this time I watched the new Beatles documentary ‘Get Back’. George Harrison has a song idea, but doesn’t have the lyrics, and John Lennon’s advice is to just sing the word ‘pomegranate and the lyrics will come eventually.’ Hilarious. I loved this advice. So, for the entire tour, I sang ‘pomegranate’ where I had a gap in the verse. It became known as ‘All I Need (The Pomegranate Song).’
“The song was recorded at The Surgery Studio in Wellington with Lee Prebble engineering. It took a few swings to capture this one, but I love where it landed. Initially, it had an instrumental outro, but I was singing along with the recording at home one night and wondered if there might be a vocal sing-along part. I was just rocking out with myself, doing my best Paul McCartney impression. I didn’t seriously think it would make the track. But when we were recording vocals that week, we tried singing the idea with backing singers Iris Little and Moana Leota. We were all looking at each other, going ‘yeah, that’s cool.’ We tracked it immediately, and I think you can feel that energy in the recording. We’re pretty much singing it for the first time when we recorded it.”
Freak Out City is available now to preorder on CD/LP/all streaming services from Sub Pop. LP preorders from megamart.subpop.com in North America, MM2 in the UK + EU, and your local record store, will receive the limited Loser Edition on Glacial Blue (NA) or Light Rosé (UK/EU) vinyl (all vinyl color editions whilst stock lasts!).
Bret and The State Highway Wonders will hit the road in support of Freak Out City this fall – Dates to be announced soon.
Bret McKenzie is a Grammy and Academy Award-winning musician who is most well-known for his band Flight of the Conchords and their eponymous television show. He is internationally renowned for singing and writing funny, strange, and unique songs primarily for film and television. Bret’s songs have been sung by Kermit the Frog, Celine Dion, Lizzo, Benedict Cumberbatch, Brittany Howard, Homer and Lisa Simpson, Fred Armisen, Miss Piggy, Amy Adams, Jason Segal, Ricky Gervais, Benee, Isabela Merced, Spongebob Squarepants, Tony Bennett, Mickey Rooney, and more (read full bio at Sub Pop).
What People Have Said About Bret McKenzie: “Baroque-pop delight. Evocative of Harry Nilsson and Randy Newman at their most extroverted. McKenzie’s songs provide great warmth.” Uncut
“While there is unquestionably great wit at play, there is also sincerity and real tenderness.” The Guardian
“The songs grapple with today’s problems, but they’re every bit as charming, silly and heartfelt as one would expect from the motherflippin’ Rhymenoceros.” EXCLAIM!
“Drenched in Americana, dipping into ragtime pop and melancholy piano balladry in the vein of Randy Newman, Billy Joel, Harry Nilsson and Tom Petty…” NME
Bret McKenzie Freak Out City
Tracklisting: 1. Bethnal Green Blues 2. Freak Out City 3. The Only Dream I Know 4. All the Time 5. That’s the Way the World Goes ‘Round 6. All I Need 7. Eyes on the Sun 8. Too Young 9. Highs and Lows 10. Shouldna Come Here Tonight
Today, Alan Sparhawk has shared an official video for “Get Still,” the final pre-release single from the forthcoming With Trampled by Turtles, available worldwide from Sub Pop on Friday, May 30, 2025.
Originally appearing in alternate form on Sparhawk’s 2024 release, White Roses, My God, this once abstract lyrical improvisation is now rendered clear as day, with lush acoustic instrumentation by fellow Duluth musical travelers Trampled by Turtles. For Sparhawk, revisiting the track meant understanding where it came from emotionally: “You want to be true to what you’re singing.” Watch here.
The Wire says of the album, “Thanks undoubtedly to their established friendship and chemistry, With Trampled by Turtles sees Sparhawk and the band bring an effortlessness and consistency to material of varied origin, from old songs never recorded with Low, to newer compositions. Notably, two songs from White Roses… appear in altered form here; wrenched from their electronic cage into warmer, more open environs, and no less moving or complicated for it. ‘Heaven’ retains the simplicity of its lilting minute-long original, with Sparhawk’s straightforward plea (‘Heaven/It’s a lonely place if you’re alone/l wanna be there’) accompanied by mandolin. The synthesized chorus of ‘Get Still’ is now an enveloping embrace of real voices. On ‘Not Broken,’ one of two older songs co-written with Parker, the couple’s daughter Hollis is a grounding force, repeating the chorus (‘It’s not broken/I’m not angry’) like a mantra.”
Sparhawk just finished a North American tour and will continue touring in support of both of his recent releases through the remainder of 2025. Please find a current list of dates below.
2025 Tour Dates Wed. May 28 - Liverpool, UK - Arts Club Thu. May 29 - London, UK - EartH Fri. May 30 - Portsmouth, UK - Wedgewood Rooms Sat. May 31 - Utrecht, NL - TivoliVredenBurg (Cloud Nine) Mon. Jun. 02 - Turin, IT- Spazio211 Tue. Jun. 03 - Rome, IT - Largo Venue Wed. Jun. 04 - Bologna, IT - Express Festival (Locomotiv Club) Thu. Jun. 05 - Milan, IT- Unaltrofestival - Magnolia Sat. Jun. 07 - Barcelona, ES - Primavera Festival Mon. Jun. 09 - Madrid, ES - Sala El Sol Thu. Jun. 12 - Porto, PT - Primavera Festival Sat. Aug. 02 - Tasov, CZ - Beseda Festival Sun. Aug. 03 - Katowice, PL - OFF Festival Tue. Aug. 05 - Copenhagen, DK - Lille Vega Wed. Aug. 06 - Oslo, NO - John Dee Sat. Aug. 09 - Sicily, IT - Ypsigrock Festival Mon. Aug. 11- Cambridge, UK - Junction 2 Tue. Aug. 12 - Newcastle, UK - The Cluny Wed. Aug. 13 - Nottingham, UK - Rescue Rooms Thu. Aug. 14 - Norwich, UK - Norwich Arts Centre Fri. Aug. 15, 2025 - Glanusk Park, UK - Green Man Festival Sat. Sept. 06 - Grand Rapids, MI - River Fest
With Trampled by Turtles is still available to preorder from Sub Pop. LP pre-orders from the Sub Pop Mega Mart (North America), Mega Mart 2 (UK/EU), and independent retailers worldwide will receive the limited Loser Edition on Sunflare Vinyl (US) and Cream White (UK/EU) while stock lasts!
What People Are Saying About Alan Sparhawk With Trampled by Turtles:
“With Trampled by Turtles…presents the collective energy of music-making as an ineluctable force for good.” ★★★★ MOJO
“Fellowship, easement and instinct on the songwriter’s second after Low.” - [8/10] Uncut
“It’s a sound we haven’t quite heard from Sparhawk yet. ‘Stranger’ filters the band’s bluegrass roots through Sparhawk’s knack for atmospheric, post-rock-inspired arrangements, like if Things We Lost in the Fire took a shot or two of Jack Daniel’s.” - Stereogum
“[‘Stranger’]…earthy folk-inspired rock, with the emotional weight of Sparhawk’s voice once again gripping and resonant.” - Post-Trash
“It’s a warm and layered folk ballad, performed gorgeously, channeling R.E.M.’s best moments from Automatic for the People.” - [‘Stranger’] - Treble
“[a] banjo-laced lament about resisting anger in the face of loss…” [“Not Broken”] - The Guardian
“It’s enough to leave a lump in your throat” - [“Not Broken”] - Stereogum
“…he sings, his fragile voice floating atop the folk ensemble Trampled by Turtles’ lush musical backdrop. Then a female voice comes in… [belonging] to Sparhawk and Parker’s daughter, Hollis Sparhawk, and it blends perfectly with her father’s.” - [“Not Broken”] - Rolling Stone
“‘Not Broken’ becomes a song of loss, but also of defiance, and perseverance.” - CLASH
Alan Sparhawk With Trampled by Turtles
Track Listing: 1. Stranger 2. Too High 3. Heaven 4. Not Broken 5. Screaming Song 6. Get Still 7. Princess Road Surgery 8. Don’t Take Your Light 9. Torn & in Ashes
Forth Wanderers – Ava Trilling, Ben Guterl, Zach Lorelli, Noah Yu Schifrin, and Duke Greene – will release The Longer This Goes On, their third album, worldwide through Sub Pop on Friday, July 18th, 2025. The album, which includes the standouts “To Know Me/To Love Me,” “Bluff,” ‘Barnard,” and today’s offering, “7 Months,” was produced by Dan Howard at Chateau Grand Studios and Future Sounds in New York, and mixed and mastered by Al Carlson at Gary’s Electric in New York. The Longer This Goes On is the group’s first recorded output since the release of Forth Wanderers, their beloved 2018 Sub Pop debut.
Watch the dizzying official video “7 Months” directed by band member Schifrin and his sister Elisabeth Schifrin.
The Longer This Goes On is available to preorder now on CD/LP/all DSPs from Sub Pop. LP preorders from megamart.subpop.com in North America, MM2 in the UK + EU, and your local record store, will receive the limited Loser Edition on Milky Clear (NA) or White (UK/EU) vinyl (all vinyl color editions whilst stock lasts!).
About Forth Wanderers The Longer This Goes On: There’s one thing Forth Wanderers want to make clear as they prepare to release their third album The Longer This Goes On: “We’re not back,” guitarist Ben Guterl says emphatically. It’s perhaps an unexpected sentiment to pair with the band’s first album since they parted ways seven years ago, but the band insists it’s just an honest answer—they came together to record the ten intricately constructed gems that make up this new record, and they’re still figuring out what being in Forth Wanderers means to them, over ten years after the project’s conception. Listening to these songs, each a glittering celebration of vocalist Ava Trilling’s urgent and intuitive lyrics and the band’s natural musical chemistry, though, it’s hard to feel like there’s much of anything left unsaid. Filled with spit-shined melodies, chiming vocal harmonies, and slinky, slanted rhythms, the album is more expansive than just a return to form. Here, the band aren’t afraid to take the scenic route to a hook, layering instrumental flourishes to fill in the empty spaces, creating room for Trilling’s haunting range, or repeating a riff or a lyric until it becomes a Zen koan. On The Longer This Goes On, Forth Wanderers sound more self-aware and self-assured than ever before. Just don’t call it a comeback.
The road to The Longer This Goes On began in a Brooklyn coffee shop during the summer of 2021. There, Guterl and Trilling met for the first time since Forth Wanderers’ dissolution in 2018. “We talked for four or five hours about everything under the sun,” Trilling explained. “At the tail end of our conversation, Ben asked if I wanted to try making music again.” The question took her by surprise, but Trilling agreed. The three years they’d been apart had deflated some of the pressures the band felt when they were touring their previous music: “It felt like there wasn’t as much riding on the band,” Guterl added. “We all felt free to mess around and have fun.” Guterl remembers the reassurance he felt when he reconnected to play music with bassist Noah Schifrin, guitarist Duke Greene, and drummer Zach Lorelli: “It felt the best it had between us since we had started the band. It felt like we were just in high school again.”
From the bottom up, the band reimagined the way they were used to working. “Prior to this, the band built songs from demos Ben would send us,” Schifrin explained. “This is the first time where a lot of the music was formed organically.” “All five of us really contributed to the writing process in ways that we hadn’t before in the past,” Guterl added.
There’s evidence of this collaborative environment throughout the album: Take the simmering slowburn “Honey,” which opens with just a reverberating guitar and Trilling’s honeyed vocals, weaving a languid, lazy melody, before a drum fill introduces a gallop. By its end, the song sounds something closer to a blissed-out disco, a honky tonk in heaven. On “Springboard,” the guitar’s melody seems to sizzle, melt, and burst as Trilling’s lyrics twist the voyeuristic gaze on her imagined observer: “Do you like to watch me dance?” But for every slow, sauntering groove, there’s the ebullient pop rush of “Barnard,” which opens with the fervent march of a drum and never looks back, stacking guitar riffs like the fireworks as the song careens towards its explosive conclusion. “Bluff,” by contrast, opens with the cool tones of the keyboard and auxiliary percussion, Trilling’s voice guiding the song through to its melancholic core. These moments, under the watchful eye of producer Dan Howard, capture the band at their most present and unburdened, creating their sound in real time for the very first time.
The distance since the band’s initial split also allowed for some much needed time for growth and reflection. “To be able to apologize for things and address things, to acknowledge how hard it must have been to be a young woman in a band of dudes—we were working through a lot, and it was hard,” Schifrin added. They were, at various points, still only teenagers when their music started gaining traction with musicians like Lorde, and the distance between that adolescent fame and their adult lives has allowed for reflection. “Seven years later, we’re coming together as… not different people, but adults. There’s not the pressure to be labeled a certain way or stay in your comfort zone,” Trilling said. “We had more fun with style and testing what we could get away with, whether it’s bluesy, country, slower, or darker; whatever sounded good.”
Indeed, the fiery spirit of country and blues is present across the record—from the swaggering bassline of “Make Me” to the spun-out melodies of “Spit”—a fitting mode for Trilling’s lyrics, which are at turns wry, painfully honest, and always burning with an undeniable forthrightness. “Don’t pull me up / I’d rather we lie down. Move my tongue / so I can make a sound,” she sings on “To Know Me/ To Love Me,” sounding equal parts overwhelmed and over it, as if overcommitting oneself is just the price of entry for a life worth living. On “7 Months,” she sings of sleepless nights and weeks spent lying in bed, only to hope that the nameless “you” in the song will stick by her side. These kinds of confessionals—broad enough to make anyone lost in the mess of an uncertain romantic limbo feel understood, yet so precisely written that it must have clearly come from lived experience—are exactly what made Forth Wanderers songs both so universally relatable and specifically felt. On The Longer This Goes On, they’ve deepened that ability to pull at potent threads of romantic ennui with minimalist lyrics and lush instrumentation.
Forth Wanderers aren’t sure what’s next—they’re not sure if they’ll continue to record new music or if they’ll ever perform these songs live. These recordings, then, are ten fleeting yet invaluable impressions of the time spent as a band; rekindling of friendships between high school buddies whose dreams catapulted them into the spotlight before they were old enough to drive; songs that capture the uncertainty of the future as much as their music cements their own self-confidence in the present. On The Longer This Goes On, Forth Wanderers are making music on their own terms.
What People Have Said About Forth Wanderers: “Forth Wanderers Made An Indie Rock Record For The Ages” [Forth Wanderers] STEREOGUM
“… Guterl’s spry and smoky guitar lines and Trilling’s blunt, diaristic lyrics gave the band an urbane sensibility, one that feels not just older in age, but in sound.” [Forth Wanderers] Pitchfork
“Forth Wanderers are built on warm and weathered guitar hooks complementing vocalist Ava Trilling’s dreamy and apprehensive voice, which is drenched in suburban ennui and hazy sweetness.” [Forth Wanderers] EXCLAIM!
“‘Taste,’ in particular, came from diametrically opposed places in their young love lives. … Still, the distance — emotional and physical — doesn’t undercut the dizzying intimacy of the song.” NPR MUSIC
“A driving slice of indie-rock that’s propelled by clashing drums and vocalist Ava Trilling’s powerful, sometimes swooning vocals.” [“Not for Me”] DIY
“As wholesome and heartening as we’ve come to expect, led, as always, by Ava Trilling’s tremendous lead voice which leaps between glowing energy and something altogether more melancholic, but always pushed to sumptuous heights by the muscular backing of the band, which continues to be a bold and pertinent facet of the band’s stature. A woozy, wonderful return”. [Not for Me] Gold Flake Paint
“A feral dose of guitar noise that somehow holds itself together over that four minute span.” [“Not for Me”] CLASH
Forth Wanderers The Longer This Goes On
Tracklisting: 1. To Know Me/To Love Me 2. Call You Back 3. Honey 4. 7 Months 5. Spit 6. Springboard 7. Make Me 8. Barnard 9. Bluff 10. Don’t Go Looking
