Forever Howlong 2025
I assume there's a decent number of For The First Time or Ants From Up There fans that don't vibe with the more whimsical sounds of Forever Howlong. Luckily for me, I love post-punk just as much as I love musical theater, so all three are fine with me! But really, this album is wildly underrated. Ants From Up There may be the more emotionally overwhelming experience, but Forever Howlong still stands as a remarkable album in its own right. I love that, like The Beatles, each song carries the identity of whoever wrote and sang on it -- a Georgia song sounds different from a May song, which sounds different from a Tyler song. On a first listen, it can feel impenetrable. The melodies aren't immediately sticky, and many of the songs unfold in slow, linear progressions rather than familiar verse-chorus structures. Give it time, though, and it settles in. That's not just the effect of repetition (anything grows more familiar the more you hear it, regardless of quality). No, the difference here is that the arrangements are so densely and precisely orchestrated, and so brilliantly performed, that you notice new details with every listen that keep the experience fresh, all while the melodies quietly worm their way into your brain. All of which is to say: every one of them is among the best instrumentalists I've ever heard. 9/10
