Back in November 2014, Forth Wanderers shook the Indie world when they released their debut LP, Tough Love. On the first track of the album, "Selfish", Ava Trilling, the band's leading lady sings: "I wanna be known/As the girl who's stone cold." Her voice streams out effortlessly, but with great intention.
The first eleven seconds before her voice appears is when the band really establishes their sound. First, you hear a hazy sound of interlocking guitar harmonies reminiscent of 90s punk bands that defined that era, followed by Ava's voice, and then the quick beat of the drums. Nostalgia, self-identity, love, sadness, and other youth-centered internal strife are all subjects of their songs with honest lyrics that accompany them. The rest of the tracks on the album offer the same self-assured, effortless sound with Ava's voice leading them along the way.
The make-up of the band is Ava Trilling on vocals, guitarists Ben Guterl and Duke Green, bassist Noah Schifrin and drummer Zach Loreli. Their EP, Mahogany, was recorded while many of the band's members were still in high school during a Thanksgiving break and was released in 2013. Their EP's three tunes, "Paws", "Caramel Emotion" and "Sip Neigh" and the Tough Love LP even caught notice from Lorde and she urged her Twitter-sphere to give them a listen.
Hailing from Montclair, New Jersey, Forth Wanderers originates from a town where many indie bands have taken their roots and made it to the "big-time". But Forth Wanderers stand out and differentiate them from other indie bands from that area with their own unique sound. They're young, but they're not wandering as their name might suggest, if anything they're wandering forward with lyrics and sound that surpass their age. Tough Love proves that Forth Wanderers know where they’re going in the music world.
Tracks to Listen To: "Selfish" and "Painting of Blue"
(Bandcamp)
