I never thought I’d get to write a Forth Wanderers album review. When a band goes completely radio silent for over five years after abruptly canceling a number of tour dates, including some big festivals, that’s almost always a clear sign it’s over. I gave up on the idea of more music from them years ago. Life is full of surprises, not always good ones, but sometimes you do get one of the happy surprises, and this is one of them.
A quick refresher on who Forth Wanderers are would probably be helpful considering they last dropped in the early days of the first Trump administration and have been a rarely talked about indie cult favorite since. An incredibly unique and high-quality sound made them quickly stick out among the early/mid-2010s indie-rock world. I’ve never really heard anyone that sounds like them, and the mix of lead singer Ava Trilling’s incredible blunt, deadpan, often slow-as-hell delivery, and witty lyrics – with some killer instrumentals that could bounce across genres – was incredible. They gained ground quickly, got a Lorde shoutout, progressively signed with bigger indie labels with each release before getting to Sub Pop, and then dropped their self-titled album in 2018. It got rave reviews, fans loved it, it’s aged into my favorite album of 2018, and it seemingly cemented them as one of the biggest and best up-and-coming indie acts out there.
Right before their big tour began, they canceled everything, and weren’t really heard from for a year before an essay from Trilling detailed some intense mental health issues that made touring a serious difficulty. After that, nothing. Seemed like that was it. Then, out of nowhere earlier this summer, they started dropping new music and announced their latest album, The Longer This Goes On, and let me tell you, they did not come back for nothing.
Despite being gone as long as they have, there’s still no one that sounds like this, and there are very few bands that operate at as high a level instrumentally – and the hiatus actually made them a good bit more experimental on The Longer This Goes On. They slow their sound down even more so than usual on “Springboard”, and the strumming during the verses is wonderfully grungy in a way they’ve never really done before. “Barnard” sounds a lot like some of The Strokes’ early work, and Trilling does an excellent job vocally, never really letting the instrumental speed up the delivery. You also aren’t gonna get much more crammed into a track than the two minutes of “Call You Back”. The second the vocals kick in, it feels just like “Nevermine” or “Taste” did; they haven’t lost a step at all. I love the lounge singer vibes of “Make Me” and it’s another slow moment, where Forth Wanderers have always thrived.
One of the reasons their self-titled album has stayed such a favorite of mine is due to how rewarding it is on re-listens, and I’m starting to feel the same about The Longer This Goes On. Initially, I didn’t enjoy “Honey” and it’s grown on me significantly with more listens – same with some of the shorter tracks. Forth Wanderers just have a way to burrow into your brain and you can’t stop yourself from falling in love with these tracks. It’s grown on me more and more with each listen, and while I’m still a bit partial to their self-titled, this is an incredible album. Would I have wanted a bit more music? Maybe. They’ve never been a band interested in overstaying their welcome (to their detriment, frankly), and shorter tracks are common for them, so I’m not surprised or disappointed at the album’s brevity.
The addictiveness of their writing hasn’t changed either, and as a whole I’d actually say they’ve gotten better and more conceptual in the time between albums. The aforementioned “Honey” is a great example: everything about the instrumental is just ever so slightly off, and Trilling’s slow, sticky vocals just pull you into the longing-filled writing. “Spit” is maybe the best example of one of Trilling’s best attributes as a singer, which is her ability to just milk every word for everything it’s worth. It’s such a smart move to crank that dial to 11 and draw out every single syllable as the lyrics detail a struggle to just get words out in a conversation. Even when they go the complete opposite direction on “7 Months” and speed up the track in a way they’ve rarely ever done, they nail it. It’s another song that fits with the The Longer This Goes On‘s consistent themes of doomed acceptance, working very well given everything Forth Wanderers have gone through.
Then there’s not just my favorite track off The Longer This Goes On but one of my favorite tracks of the last few years, “Bluff”. It’s another enthralling yet mellow cut, with the hook revving up before a quick return to calm on the next verse, and as it revs back up harder than before you start to really amp yourself up and then… nothing. The bottom drops out, and Trilling’s taunting ‘I’m too good, you’d think I’ve had it all/At least I fake it/I think they buy it…’ closes the track. The whole song revolves around this narrative of Trilling’s unwillingness to change even if it results in sabotage. It’s a fascinating look inward as there’s complete acknowledgment that there’s no real reason to commit to the bluff, and it’s hard not to at least partially view the track as a bit of self-reflection on Forth Wanderers’ career. There’s no lack of ability or interest, but there’s just something they can’t get past and they know it just as much as we do so, of course, instead of giving you the big moment you wanted, they pull the rug out from under you and leave you grasping. It’s a type of move you can only make when you know you will not follow it up.
‘I’m so open, baby
Somebody stitch me up
I’d rather leave you lonely
Than have to call my bluff
Ain’t that fucked up?
And ain’t that fucked up?’
The final track of The Longer This Goes On, “Don’t Go Looking”, really hammers home that this is almost certainly it for them. The vibes felt identical to when an athlete hasn’t officially announced their retirement, but you can tell you’re watching their last game. The heavy repetition of ‘It ain’t me/Don’t go looking around/All is buried deep down’ does not give the impression that there is anything left in the tank.
As I said earlier, this wouldn’t be the first time I gave up on the idea of ever getting another Forth Wanderers album, and if I’m wrong again I’ll be thrilled, but if there’s another album (or just any new music as a band) I’d be legitimately shocked. There’s no new tour, no new festival performances, no new merch, and the band has been extremely firm that they are not ‘back’ for good. Part of me will always wonder what could have been, but I got a lot of catharsis from The Longer This Goes On. It feels like this is something they felt they needed to do so that they could go out on their own terms. It’s infinitely more satisfying than the retreat into the ‘hiatus’ void that so many acts get lost in and that I thought they had been lost to. This time around I got closure, and I feel like they did too.
