Patricio De La Fuente Duran
Let me be honest..... This album is a guilty pleasure of mine. It's definitely a very "teen-angst" kind of album, but for some reason, I just really get into the song when I get listening to it. This is one of those.... Its not for everyone kind of albums in my collection.
Favorite track: Slop.
Forth Wanderers are five friends from Montclair, New Jersey. Together they make some of the most powerfully intimate and emotive indie-rock music you’re likely to hear. Comprised of singer Ava Trilling, guitarists Ben Guterl and Duke Greene, bassist Noah Schifrin and drummer Zach Lorelli, despite all being under the age of 21, the group have been prolifically forging musical creations from the bedrooms of their Garden State township since 2013.
"In winter of my junior year of high school I was trying to find a way to talk to Ava, who was a freshman at the time and I kind of had a crush on," recalls guitarist and songwriter Ben of the band’s formation. "I had no intention of starting a band, but I thought sending her a demo would be a great excuse to hang out because I knew she sung from middle school. I sent it to her and nothing came of it. We never got together and I forgot about the song, until eventually I received a demo back from her with vocals on and I just thought 'wow'". It’s the kind of story that great songs are written about. But such is the perfect narrative that preempted the band’s debut EP Mahogany, as the songwriting partnership was completed by Ben’s three best classroom friends, followed swiftly by long-player Tough Love in 2014.
With their burgeoning discography it’s hard to believe that Ava only just graduated high school this June, and the rest of the band are in their junior college year. But it’s fair to say that with Slop EP the band are truly arriving on the international scene. Over just four tracks the band manage to create an intense impact with the effortless, earnest melody of Ava’s talismanic vocals soaring above the untempered churns of Ben’s haunting, raw guitars.
Forth Wanderers have been building a loyal fanbase plucked from disparate scenes, drawing comparisons from everyone from Built To Spill and Pavement to Mac DeMarco and Weezer. But the urgency and immediacy of what they do feels almost unparalleled amongst the current wave of breaking indie music. The EP is as euphoric as it is lamenting, with "Know Better" opening proceedings with driving, strident guitar swirls and some real earworm hooks. "Nerves" bursts forth from fizzing, lo-fi shackles to give some of one the band’s most head-nodding moments. Before seismic closer "Unfold" bring things to a heart-wrenching finale "I've been tired of hearing fake speeches, needless to say I’m in love with you..." Ava croons amidst its epic closing bars.
"I was going through a weird time," she remembers. "But these songs felt great to write. With every song Ben sent me, lyrics would ultimately pour out." The cathartic reward that Ava speaks of is impossible to escape when listening to the Slop EP, the empathy from laying bare everyday life’s rawest moments. It’s this powerful sense of kinship that will likely see the band continue rising as one of the most eagerly followed new acts around.
The Slop EP is a co-release between House Anxiety/Marathon Artists (UK) and Father/Daughter Records (US), who've between them have introduced the world to Courtney Barnett, King Krule, Diet Cig and Mutual Benefit.
I do actually love this record. It features great vocals and lots of energy. Hard to pick a standout track. probably their best record. I bought them all on the strength of this. coodercat
Julien Baker is an acquired taste - assuming of course you’ve acquired great taste in singer songwriters… beautiful, devastating, honest, insightful… I’ve not heard a single song of hers that hasn’t left me in absolute awe. crisbroadhurst
Bouncy, jangly power pop with a slash of acidic shadow, as the very best twee always has. From Boston, they met at band camp (not Bandcamp). Bandcamp New & Notable Jul 2, 2019
The moment I heard her voice I was captivated. It’s so unique and I was playing this record non-stop. Vagabon is one of my favorite artists and will always look forward to all their projects. Kerim