Small town indie-rock is having its heyday once again as listeners move their ears away from the big city stereotypes in search of music and experiences they find more relatable.
One band with a growing audience of sincere fans are Litvar, the American indie-rockers Rex Thurstan (he/they), Violet Falkowski (she/they) and Joe Lemieux (he/they) from Willimantic, Connecticut, who are in some ways defined by their experiences growing up in such an unassuming place, but it’s also their battle against the status quo that comes through with such power in their genre-blending sound.
Following the release of their impactful singles ‘You Should Find A New Boyfriend’, ‘Alone (Not Lonely)’ and ‘Oh My God’, this talented band of friends release their long-awaited second album – Eloquently Aimless. This eleven-track record is jam packed with tracks that have found a fine balance between ‘00s inspired nostalgia and contemporary indie songwriting. At every turn, this album surprises the listener with its vibrant versatility, one that combines indie-pop, alt-rock, and indie-electronica.
From the album, focus track ‘All Those Minutes Ago’ “sarcastically tackles relationship problems, and constantly wanting to change everything about yourself.”
The record was produced by Charles Newman (The Magnetic Fields, The Bones of J.R. Jones) in February of 2022, when Litvar drove cross country to the late Elliot Smith’s New Monkey Studio in Los Angeles to track the record with Newman.
Summarizing the record, Litvar states that “The album explores feelings of crawling out of dark mental spaces, confronting ego, being unsure of yourself, and wanting to go back in time and change your mistakes.”
Eloquently Aimless track-list
- Saved Again
- Oh My God
- All Those Minutes Ago
- You Should Find A New Boyfriend
- Alone (Not Lonely)
- If Nothing Awaits
- Nightfall
- Everybody Is Famous
- Eloquently Aimless
- Artificial Intelligence
- Maybe I’m Alive
Litvar’s origin story sprung from the childhood friendship of Rex and Violet, who began to play and write music together since their high school days. Ever since then, they’ve been working together as songwriters in various bands and projects, but the turning point for the duo came when they met Joe at a local Connecticut show in 2019. The chemistry was instant and Joe immediately asked to be their drummer and soon enough they were all playing shows together in the local music scene.
When the covid-19 pandemic arrived in early 2020, roommates Joe and Rex did what many musicians in isolation did at the time and started producing a new collection of songs that would turn out to be Litvar’s debut album. They released debut single ‘Hi I’m Andy’ in May 2020, and quickly amassed over 100,000 streams and built a loyal online following.
The full debut album, The Greatest Movie of All Time, followed in September 2020, which caught the eye of LA-based indie label Mother West who signed them later that year in October. The label released the album on vinyl, CD and cassette, which was followed by a radio campaign that saw the record reaching #193 on the NACC charts.
In early 2021, Litvar was ready to prepare new music and live shows, so Rex and Joe recruited Violet into the band as a third songwriter and bassist. Throughout 2021, the trio toured extensively across the United States and in 2022 they performed several shows in Austin, TX for SXSW.
Another landmark moment for Litvar was this summer (2022) with the release of the stand alone hit single ‘No One Tastes Like You’ produced by Wolfgang Zimmerman (Band of Horses) and with a gritty music video. Ever tireless, the band followed this single with even more live shows.
Upcoming shows
5th November – San Diego, CA
7th November – Los Angeles, CA
8th November – San Francisco, CA
10th November – Seattle, WA
11th November – Portland, OR
https://instagram.com/wearelitvar
