7 Years Later, Forth Wanderers Return with “7 Months”

Needless to say, when Forth Wanderers unexpectedly released a song, the corner of the internet that still cries over Title Fight or reels in the Midwest emo revival went crazy. Seven Months, the second single from their upcoming album The Longer This Goes On, marks the band's spring into music again, after seven years of silence, or what felt like the moment the band was done for good. The title itself feels like a wink at time, absence, and the bittersweetness of maybe-not-coming-back-but-still-making-something-beautiful.

Forth Wanderers, made up of Ava Trilling (vocals), Ben Guterl (guitar/songwriter), Duke Greene (guitar), Noah Schifrin (bass), and Zach Lorelli (drums), were barely out of high school in suburban New Jersey, when they formed in 2013 — three childhood friends and a frontwoman whose lyrics are quiet punches to the gut. The band quickly rose through DIY scenes and even earned Lorde’s stamp of approval over Twitter, before signing with Sub Pop. After dropping their self-titled album in 2018 — with signifiers of promise, beneath the breakout trajectory was an unravelling unbeknownst to the listeners. The kind that makes you assume the worst, like the band was breaking up for good or burnt out, which both rang true. Trilling was battling with panic disorders and OCD, and the pressures of touring only compounded the strain. At just twenty, she stepped back — not in flames, but in survival. The idea of a “return” became more than a myth than a possibility.

What does it mean to return when you’re not sure you ever will again? 7 Months does not offer answers, nor does it try to. Sonically, this single feels like the lightest the band has ever sounded. Slightly jazzy drums skip along as Guterl’s guitar glides, playful and bright with indie rock tunes. Trilling’s vocals remain unmistakable — slightly off-kilter, emotionally direct, but float above with ease, her delivery tinged with an emotional anti-gloss that gives her songwriting weight. If their earlier work felt like watching someone process heartbreak in real-time, 7 Months is like watching that same person try to dance through it.

When the single dropped with no sign in sight, without a grand “we’re back” announcement, it was surreal. The song is so infectious, without the nostalgia bait.

However, as Guterl states in an interview, the band is not "back" for good, which is a drawback for die-hard fans. There are no plans to tour or release another record, but the main attraction should be on the band's ability to create music on their grown-up terms. After a long stretch of reflection, distance, and hard conversations of a band too young for the weight it was carrying — 7 Months is perhaps a sigh of relief.

The gentle reconvening of Forth Wanderers remains modest and extremely exciting. Instead of reliving the past or overwriting it, they simply offer a glimpse of what remains possible when a band lets go of being a band and chooses, just for a moment, to simply make music again.