This track post comes to you from a middle car on a southbound Amtrak train headed to 34th Street Penn Station in New York City. I’m moving to Brooklyn after graduating from college, and quite frankly, I’m terrified. During a tearful, extended goodbye to my partner, my final words included “be safe when you use power tools, be safe when you are chopping vegetables and meat, be safe when you are driving, just be safe!!!” Then he reminded me to be safe myself, but also, to be excited. It’s too easy to become so caught up in the nostalgia and *emotion* of big milestones that you forget to think about the big picture: time with new friends, new opportunities, and new stories to share. While his words did comfort me, the unknown still seems more terrifying than anything.
Considering all these emotions, it seems like fate that I would board the train, put on my headphones, and immediately hear a song that summarizes the EXACT way that I am feeling. “Somewhere Else,” the debut track off Philadelphia quartet Littler’s upcoming album Of Wandering, could literally not have arrived at a better time. Following a series of singles and EPs, the Kyle Gilbride recorded “Somewhere Else” features the band’s familiarly sweet sound, this time confronting the difficulties of growing up and changing. “Over there is my career but I am not ready to grow up,” sings Madeline Meyer, setting up a clear divide of interests. “I am not around to make sure you eat okay and aren’t lonely / But from here I get to miss you and have some things for me only,” she confides later, deadpan but genuine. This sentiment – worry and sadness on one hand and a craving for independence on the other – is relatable enough to offer a dose of both reality and comfort. The songs ends with a speedy breakdown of the refrain “It’s always better somewhere else,” leaving you to ponder the truth of that statement for yourself.
You can stream Littler’s “Somewhere Else” below.
