Nostalgia Tracks: Rediscovering Crying's "Wool in the Wash"

In the section Nostalgia Tracks, team members discuss their favorite songs, ones that they have a deep connection with. In this installment, contributing writer Olivia Perry discusses Crying’s song, “Wool in the Wash.”

“What’s your walking song?” My self-alleged show accomplice asked me this while we were grabbing a drink a few months back, and her question threw me off. Since my inaugural waltz with public transit back in middle school, getting from point A to point B has meant packing tunes is more than a luxury – it’s a near-necessity. Before the iPod, there was a brief encounter with an mp3 player, and my sister’s hand-me-down Walkman before that, but the need to seek out music on my own didn’t hit until my middle school discovery of LimeWire (bless that program, as surely as it took down our family desktop computer, bless it).

Beyond the Fleeting Gales - Crying album art — Beyond the Fleeting Gales – Crying album art

It goes without saying that getting around is always better when you at least have the option of listening to music. Unless you spend your commute trolling the subway for your @fuglyshoesofny Instagram, you know the gravity of passing the point of no return when leaving the house and realizing that your headphones and book are back inside. This feeling was only amplified for an angsty teenager with a low boredom threshold and an hour-long commute. As a kid in suburbia, my memories of the ensuing years are set to the soundtracks of highway drives and bus rides, but I’d never consciously considered what makes a walking song ‘good’ until Sarah brought it up.

Crying first crossed my radar in the fall of 2016 when I was with a company who was working the band’s debut full length record, Beyond the Fleeting Gales. The indie trio hails from upstate New York and has a distinctive chiptune-pop-meets-arena-rock sound that translates into a kick-ass 10-track record. The band features Elaiza Santos on vocals, Ryan Galloway on guitar and keyboard, and Kynwyn Sterling of LVL UP on drums.

With a voice that narrates with an understated breeziness, Santos’ vocals are surprisingly fitting for a band that thrives on waves of such resounding instrumentals. Just don’t doubt that she holds her own through the episodes of upbeat arcade-jingles and instrumental shredding – it’s the combination that makes Crying so good.

Listen: “Wool in the Wash” – Crying

As the lead single and opening track of Crying’s album, “Wool in the Wash” garnered the most airtime in and out of the office, but for whatever reason it didn’t resonate at the time like it did when I rediscovered it this past fall. New York’s Indian summer was finally tapering off and we were bordering on jean jacket weather at last – the time of year when you can actually enjoy walking around and soak up that last bit of warmth before winter hits (and has it ever hit…).

If you want it, girl, go and get it
Even if the pain is undeniable
Moving to lose, is making a move
So, I packed my bags and bought a ticket out

“Wool In The Wash” was my token walking-out-the-door song; it always hit like a fix of vitamin D. Even months after playing it to death, it’s almost impossible for me to hear that track and not dance along to the music in some capacity. From the cheery prelude that carries it to Santos’ ever-refreshing vocals and life-breathing lyrics, whatever your definition of a good walking song is, “Wool in the Wash” is a born case.

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