Katie Chrobot
On October 23, forestlike, an emerging folk duo from Indiana, released their sophomore album, i was waiting. The duo, composed of Jared Myers (Daytime Volume) and Joshua Wayne Hensley (The Rutabega), released their debut album nearly three years ago, in November 2023. The two had been creating music together long before that, though, having met when Joshua was in high school and Jared was in college. They have since been in many bands together, leading up to the formation of forestlike. I was lucky enough to get the chance to sit down with the two following their recent album release to get some more insight into the project as well as the duo.
When asked to describe forestlike in three words, the pair responded, “friends with guitars,” and although there’s a lot more to the two than that, the phrase certainly encapsulates the most important part of their music: at the end of the day, they’re just best friends doing what they love to do. They said that being longtime friends and having been in many bands together are very important parts of who they are and are certainly important things for listeners to know when diving into their music. Joshua told me, “forestlike in particular does really embody our friendship and the fact that we have so much shared life experience.” They not only grew up together, but also learned how to write music, perform, and be in a band together. Musically, their shared history is very important because it showcases just how well the two work together.
Although they’d worked together for many years prior to the formation of forestlike, the two both expressed just how well they believe they work together as a duo. They explained how, when they were younger, it felt like two people weren’t enough to have a well-rounded sound or to make them seem professional enough, but looking back, they both noticed that they would often sit on the porch with guitars and sing together, and it always worked for them. “Why didn’t we just do this years ago?” Joshua wondered. Their styles are very similar, but their ideas, writing preferences, and worlds tend to be very different, so the two together truly make an unstoppable duo. They each add their own uniqueness while also being able to blend their ideas together seamlessly, adding so much to the other person and complementing each other so well.
While they eventually knew they wanted to form a duo and start creating music together, they first had to come up with a name. Jared saw the word “forestlike” in a dictionary and thought that it was weird and cool, so he floated the idea to Joshua, who informed me that he was glad Jared came up with it because he finds names to be very difficult. He mentioned that he has a list of band names written down and talked about how hard it was to come up with a name, especially when it’s for a group that involves other people because everyone has to agree on it. After deciding on the name, they were so happy with it that they immediately secured the Bandcamp domain so that it didn’t get taken. The name truly encapsulates the sound of their music as well as themselves. They both love nature, and their music, as well as their music videos, really transports listeners into a world filled with vivid images of forests and nature, capturing the general sense of calm that being outdoors can often bring. They truly could not have picked a more perfect name to capture their sound.
Another thing that stands out about the two is their recording process for this new record. “It’s really kind of these live, original takes that we build everything off of,” Jared responded when asked what their recording process entails. They recorded the entire album together in random rooms in their houses. This recording process works very well for their sound because each of their songs feels so raw, emotional, and natural. When they record together without a click track, as they did for i was waiting and plan to do for future projects, they believe their songs turn out much more natural-sounding, almost like a live performance.
To talk a bit more in depth about their sophomore album, I asked the pair what their thought process was behind choosing the two lead singles for the project, “summer blanket” and “black cherry soda.” The duo said that “summer blanket” had been an obvious choice, as they had been working on the video for it already. They were originally planning to release “rickety rescue boat” as the second lead single. Joshua revealed this is because they’re working on a music video for that song as well, which will directly correlate to and continue the story of the “summer blanket” video. Although the video had already been fully recorded, with the filming taking place on the same day as the “summer blanket” video, the editing wasn’t done yet. Because of this, they decided to pivot to a different lead single: “black cherry soda.”
Joshua expressed that neither of them loves the marketing aspect of the industry and that their favorite part is definitely just the making of the music. He described it as a “necessary evil,” saying that if they’re going to spend the money to make the record, buy vinyl, etc., they have to do at least a little bit of promotion to try to get their work to reach more people. He said that they wanted to put “black cherry soda” out so that there was something else to lead up to and build excitement for the release of the album. Although it’s not a traditional, catchy lead single, Joshua thinks it really encapsulates the vibe of forestlike as a whole, showcasing to audiences that it’s okay to have a little bit of quiet.
“One thing that I really like about forestlike is that it shows that it’s okay to slow down, it’s okay to be quiet, it’s okay to take your time with things, and those are things that keep coming up and that I feel like are baked into ‘black cherry soda’”
~ Joshua Wayne Hensley (forestlike)
Diving a little deeper into one of these lead singles, Jared provided further insight into some of the specific lyrics from “black cherry soda.” There’s a line in the song that mentions golden hour, which he actually came up with after his nephew mentioned that he was waiting until golden hour to get his pictures taken for the best lighting. The following line, “the longest way home just for fun,” was actually inspired by one of his coworkers. Jared had been working on this part of the track and thinking about what to write next when the coworker mentioned to him that he had taken the long way home for fun the night before. This simple little piece of conversation sparked the idea to add the line into the song.
These stories and the way they tie into his lyrics really offer insight into Jared as a writer, as he explained that he tends to write down random lines here and there as opposed to sitting down and writing a full story all at once. Most of his songs are about many different experiences and tidbits of conversation, rather than just one moment in his life. The only exception to this is the song “moon,” which came to him late one night when he went outside and looked up at the moon. He wrote nearly all of the song that night.
“A lot of my lyrics are all over the place; I don’t usually write a consistent thread. I like it to sound like something is there but also be vague enough that somebody can get their own interpretation”
~ Jared Myers (forestlike)
When asked about their favorite song that they’ve put out so far, they both agreed that their answers change often. Joshua said he really likes the recording of “four eyes” as well as playing it live. He also talked about how fun “black cherry soda” is to play live because of how different it sounds from the recording. Jared said that his current favorite song to perform live is “no sir” and that his favorite recording is “tranquil light” from their new project. He praised Joshua for the final result of the song, as he is the one who mixes all of their tracks. Joshua agreed with this sentiment, saying that he was very happy with the way the track turned out.
The discussion of “tranquil light” also led to a conversation about how Joshua took over the duo’s mixing process. Jared talked about how, during COVID, when they were making their first project, Joshua bought all of the same equipment that Jared had so that he could learn to mix as well. Eventually, he surpassed Jared from a technical standpoint. Joshua mentioned how, when they first formed the duo, they were both mixing things, but then Joshua mixed “weather man,” one of the tracks from their first project, their self-titled album, forestlike. Jared heard the final product and was impressed by the results, telling him that he should do all of the mixing for the album, a role that continued through this project as well.
Ultimately, forestlike is certainly a group to watch out for, and from their unique sound to their clever songwriting, you’ll never know what surprises they have in store. You can expect to see them playing some more live shows shortly, particularly in Northern Indiana, where they both reside, and I can’t recommend seeing the two live enough. The duo also revealed that they’re already talking about starting to record another album, so be on the lookout for that! Until then, you can stream i was waiting here:
