Feature | For Now, Forever

I am always excited to listen to new music by independent and self-made artists, and For Now, Forever was no exception. In my opinion, folk music is, without doubt, one of the absolute best genres of music for capturing and expressing the magic and wonder of the human soul – especially in this digital age of copy and paste. 

I had done a little research into the artist before listening to the album and a smile was brought to my face when I read stories of Liana singing on the streets and from her balcony as well as roughing through the unforgiving bar scene with only her guitar and her talent to protect her. I knew already before listening that she’d be a real one.

I also read of some of the personal struggles she’d been through in her life and had no doubt that this emotion would come through in her music. I found both of these to be true right from the very beginning. From the first note of the first track – which has the apt title of (It Begins) – I could feel the emotion and layers of life lived.

For some reason, I felt that I was brought back to childhood for a moment – with all its carefree innocence – before reeling back in the years and being reminded of all the ups and downs that made me the adult I am today.

The nostalgic effect combined with the consciousness of the present moment continued as I continued to listen. The subtle instruments backing Liana’s guitar in the next two songs “Twin Peaks” and “Atoms Colliding” do a great job to invoke and amplify the emotional and intellectual context of the tracks. I found an element of the sci-fi running concurrent just underneath the acoustics of these tracks that I particularly enjoyed. As the album continues, Liana’s voice and guitar skills take the lead until the track “Swimming Song”. Here a stringed instrument takes center stage.

The sublime strings continue in the next track “Paulina” before being pleasantly surprised by some minor piano chords in “Hearts & Minds” – which was my personal favorite of the entire album. To round the album out I was hit with some crunchy drums and silky arpeggio keynotes which were refreshing to hear and made for a nice way to end the album.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed For Now, Forever and would put it right at the top of new albums I’ve heard so far this year. Perhaps the greatest strength Folk music has over its more modern contemporary rivals is that it can be free-flowing, spontaneous, quirky, and most important of all, human. Liana Warren achieved all this and more and absolutely deserves to be on your playlist this Summer.