A Chat with Litvar (19.09.23)
Bringing the “I’m from a small town but don’t mess with me” attitude to the world of indie-rock, trio Litvar battles the status quo with their inspiring music. We speak with guitarist and vocalist Rex Thurston about Litvar’s new album Eloquently Aimless, being unique, future plans and much more.
OSR: A cliché question but what drew you to music and how did Litvar come about?
Thurstan: Well, we’ve been into music our whole lives. Violet has always had an attraction to musical theater and writing music as well as singing. I’ve been playing guitar my whole life. Joe has been drumming his whole life.
Violet and I were in a project called Eel People, and one night we played a show that was on the same bill as Joe’s first project Spray Bottle Fever. After that night, we connected over the same tastes in music, humor, and just generally had so much chemistry as the three of us.
OSR: You recently released your sophomore album Eloquently Aimless. How do you think Eloquently Aimless differs from your debut album The Greatest Movie of All Time?
Thurstan: The album differs massively from the first. Eloquently Aimless is more grounded in real time. Thematically it’s an awkward dance of existential inner-dialogue. We often have said that the title literally means ‘perfectly confused’.
OSR: Creating music can be fun but also complicated. What were the best and most challenging bits of creating Eloquently Aimless?
Thurstan: This album had its challenges, one of them was letting someone take the wheel on the sonics. Giving up some creative control of the overall sound was hard at first, but we’re all glad we did it this time around. Working with Mother West on this record has made it especially unique to me, I think it’s a strange album that I wouldn’t personally expect to connect with everyone — however, the people it will connect with will love it aggressively.
OSR: If you could change anything about the new album, what would it be and why?
Thurstan: I guess I would have changed the due date, so we could have spent some more time fine-tuning things. I will also say as a newer vocalist who is constantly trying to improve, it’s gonna be hard for me to listen to this album without my chest tightening a little bit every time I hear something I could have sang better. 😆
OSR: There was a break in releasing music between 2020 and 2022. Do you think your music has evolved from the older to newer material?
Thurstan: Our music evolved quickly, even during the time between recording Eloquently Aimless and its release date, I have made new music for our next project which is entirely different. Much less of an indie rock sound, more of a modern-dance pop sound. Leaning in more toward my Daft Punk influence.
OSR: If you had to introduce yourself to someone who had never heard of Litvar before, which song would you recommend?
Thurstan: If I were to show a song to someone to introduce them to our band, in the past it was ‘Sertraline’. But now that EA is out, ‘All Those Minutes Ago’. It’s the most accessible sound, and it’s the happiest sounding. Every time I’m with people who want to hear it, I show them ‘All Those Minutes Ago’.
OSR: What makes Litvar unique?
Thurstan: I think what makes us unique is hopefully our style, I always try to keep it close to home. By that I mean not trying to wear someone else’s style too much, but rather emphasizing the fact that we have a weird sound — I sing a little breathier than most, so I lean into that for tonality. Joe has a very sharply cut, phoenix-type driving beat tendency. Violet’s education and expertise with singing makes her a brilliant harmonizer and she’s an incredible bassist for having only started like three years ago.
OSR: What advice do you have for new artists?
Thurstan: My advice for new artists would be to focus all your attention on your work before you focus any attention on marketing yourself. If you put yourself out there before you even know who you are, you are much more likely to have regrets as an artist. Think of your music like tattoos, think carefully before you release it to the world.
OSR: What can we expect from Litvar in the future?
Thurstan: You can expect that we will change quite a bit, and become more and more active. I want to change gears, start releasing more often and dabble more in the music video realm things as well. I want to go deeper into this world.
OSR: Do you have a message for all our readers?
Thurstan: I am really thankful for all the support and help I get from my friends, my band, you, and anyone reading. I love making music, I find it amazing that anyone likes it and I’m always grateful that I get to make songs at all.
Many thanks to Rex Thurstan for speaking with us! Find out more about Litvar on their Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Spotify.
This artist was discovered via Musosoup #sustainablecurator
