Album of the Week: Of Wandering - Littler
In the perpetual search for ourselves, we often find the path doesn't quite follow our expectations. Littler's Of Wandering is an album of emotions - one that compiles the feelings of seeking answers in adulthood into immensely memorable and fiercely candid garage/punk rock.
If you've ever had a moment of self-doubt, confusion or felt the urge to drop it all and escape for somewhere new, then this album is your compass. Their debut full length opens with a welcome we can all relate to on "Knife Sucker" - the idea of aging, but never growing up. "When will I grow up...I still suck on knives/I still suck at life," vocalist Madeline Meyer confesses, as bandmates Anne Burtner, Dan Colanduno and Ivy Gray-Klein bolster the shouts with a sharp backing of their own. For much of the album, Meyer and Colanduno trade vocals back and forth, their work so relatable it sounds plucked from one of the many conversations I've had with friends, including the journeys to anywhere to find anything ("Of Wandering"), the simple tasks that go unaccomplished because you're overwhelmed, and does it really matter anyway ("Swollen") and the desire to forever stay hidden under covers, waiting for something, anything to happen ("For Forever").
Recorded with the help of Kyle Gilbride (Swearin'), Littler turns the downfalls of life into an album of encouragement. They transform the most downtrodden of moments into energetic ear-candy, their instrumentals often rising to a fever-pitch that are sure to awaken your spirit of its current slump. You find yourself lost in their raw fuzz and frenzied pacing - emotions unraveling from every corner, and a glimmer of hope to be found in the album's final moments. We may be just as unwilling as Meyer to grow up, but as she vehemently declares "it's always better somewhere else." And that's the message that Of Wandering leaves you with long after you've quit listening - enjoy the now; no matter what it brings and don't be in a hurry to leave these moments, even the worst ones, behind.