After years of quiet, Trails and Ways are slowly finding their way back to each other. Once one of the blogosphere’s indie darlings, the trio spent nearly a decade on pause, scattered across California and beyond, each following their own path. In that time, Keith, Emma, and Ian all went on to earn degrees, start families, and step into a more mature phase of their life. Now, with new music slowly unfolding, they’re reconnecting with that familiar groove and harmony that made them so special in the first place.
Built on warm, bossa nova-tinged textures and soft, layered harmonies, their new song “Young” feels like a slow afternoon stretched into sound. But beneath its gentle surface, there’s a deeper reflection unfolding. As the band shares, “The song began a few years ago on the foggy northern California coast… the writing process turned inward – to what it means to grow up and to truly show up.” It’s a song shaped over time, through big life changes and shifting perspectives, arriving now with a quiet sense of clarity.
Lyrically, “Young” sits right at that turning point where love grows into something more demanding, more real. “When we were young / we didn’t sit, too much to do” opens the door to nostalgia, but it quickly gives way to something more grounded. The song adresses boundaries, shared responsibility, and the effort it takes to keep a relationship alive as life gets more complex. It’s not about longing for the past, but about holding onto its openness while learning how to carry it forward. And for a band called Trails and Ways, a song about finding new directions feels especially fitting.
“Young” continues the story started with “Patiently”, which was all about making peace, reaching out after isolation, and realizing that, finally, a shore is in sight. A perfect introduction to their yet-to-be-detailed comeback album, Open Water.
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